South Korea to increase humanitarian and defence assistance to Ukraine
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has pledged to increase his country's non-lethal humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine, notes caleaeuropeana.ro. The announcement comes after the South Korean president's surprise first-ever visit to Ukraine, in a visible show of support for the country in its war with Russia.
South Korea, which is the world's ninth-largest arms exporter, has a traditional policy of not supplying lethal weapons to active conflict zones.
But at a press conference after the two leaders' meeting, he said Seoul would "expand the scope of deliveries compared to last year, when we supplied materials such as helmets and bullet-proof vests".
Yoon added that humanitarian aid will be increased to $150 million in 2023 from $100 million last year.
"We discussed everything that is important for people to live normal and safe lives," the Ukrainian president told journalists.
Zelenski said the Republic of Korea strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and provides significant political, security, economic and humanitarian support. He also thanked Yoon Suk Yeol for new initiatives on financial, technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
"It is also about the reconstruction of infrastructure in Ukraine: schools, hospitals, housing, businesses, everything that was destroyed by Russian missiles and enemy artillery. Thank you for your willingness to support our education system. And it is very important that the Republic of Korea truly protects education and humanity. We need a new large-scale rehabilitation industry. We have invited the Republic of Korea to show leadership in creating rehabilitation centres in Ukraine. Of course, we also discussed economic cooperation - this includes energy, railways and transport in general, the creation of production facilities in Ukraine, local content, as well as the macro-financial sphere. We certainly have something to do together in each of these areas. And I am sure that our cooperation will add strength to our nations and to the global positions of Ukraine and the Republic of Korea," said the Ukrainian Head of State.
For his part, the President of the Republic of Korea expressed his condolences to the relatives and friends of all those killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yoon Suk Yeol said that the Republic of Korea had also been illegally invaded by North Korea in the past, but thanks to the resistance of the military and civilians, it had managed to retain its freedom and become a strong, peaceful and prosperous state. The President of South Korea expressed his hope that his visit to Ukraine would help President Zelenski and the entire Ukrainian people.
Yoon and Zelenski met in May on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Zelenski then thanked South Korea for humanitarian shipments of medicine, computers and generators and requested additional supplies of non-lethal items, Yoon's office said at the time.
The two leaders also agreed to work together to support South Korean companies taking part in post-conflict reconstruction projects in Ukraine, according to the presidential office in Seoul.
