South Korea's President Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine, Pledges $150 Million Aid To Kyiv

In his surprise visit to Ukraine, Yoon, indicated that the amount of humanitarian help will rise to $150 million in 2023 from $100 million this past year.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Source : Getty

After a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised to "expand the scale" of his nation's humanitarian and non-lethal military support to Ukraine. After the two leaders' meeting, he stated at a news conference that Seoul "will increase the scale of supplies from last year, when we provided materials such as helmets and bullet-proof vests," news agency AFP reported

In his surprise visit to Ukraine, Yoon, who had previously visited the village of Bucha, indicated that the amount of humanitarian help will rise to $150 million in 2023 from $100 million this past year.

The ninth-largest armaments exporter in the world, South Korea, has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and delivered tanks and howitzers to Poland, a crucial ally for Kiev as it fights Russian invaders.

However, despite repeated demands for further assistance from the United States, European allies, and Ukraine itself, it maintains a long-standing policy of refusing to provide weaponry to active combat zones.

Seoul manufactures a sizable amount of NATO-compatible weapons, such as its tanks, howitzers, and highly sought-after shell ammunition, even though it is still nominally at war with nuclear-armed North Korea.

Yoon said, "Ukraine now reminds me of South Korea of the past," praising the support received from outside that helped his nation "pull off a miraculous victory" against the North and later ascend to become one of the world's leading economies, AFP reported.

Yoon stated earlier this year that a significant Russian strike on civilians may tilt the scales, and Seoul has already signalled that it may reevaluate its policy of not providing deadly assistance.

However, South Korea denied a US media allegation in May that its artillery shells were on their way to Ukraine, claiming that its stance on not giving deadly assistance to Kyiv had not altered.

Due to its economic links with Russia, which will rank as its 15th-largest trade partner by 2022, as well as Moscow's sway over North Korea, experts caution that South Korea is in a precarious situation.