Special envoy meets with President Yoon and the Chief of National Security Office and the Minister of National Defense
There is no mention of ‘weapons support’ in the content released by the President’s Office.
President’s Office responds to security threats and considers Trump regime ‘dilemma’
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerou, who is visiting Korea, arrived at the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building for a meeting with Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun on the 27th. Yonhap News
President Yoon Seok-yeol met with the Ukrainian government’s special envoy on the 27th and announced that the two countries would seek ways to effectively respond to security threats caused by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Although the President’s Office did not specify the details of the meeting, there are speculations that the special envoy may have actively requested arms support from Korea.
According to the Presidential Office, the special envoy led by Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerou met with President Yoon, National Security Office Director Shin Won-sik, and Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun in turn. President Yoon met with the special envoys at the Yongsan Presidential Office and expressed his welcome, saying, “I hope that South Korea and Ukraine will come up with effective countermeasures to deal with the security threats caused by Russia-North Korea military cooperation, such as North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia.” .
Special Envoy Umerou met with Director Shin at the Presidential Office and Minister Kim at the Ministry of National Defense building. He said, “Following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s instructions to actively seek ways to cooperate with South Korea to respond to the advancement of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, I led a government-wide delegation consisting of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Economy to visit Korea.” “I am pleased that close communication and cooperation is taking place between the two countries through various channels,” he said. He also expressed his gratitude for Korea’s close solidarity with Ukraine, saying, “Our government’s various supports have been of real help to the Ukrainian people.”
Special Envoy Umerow explained in detail the recent situation in Ukraine and the trends in North Korea’s troop dispatches. In addition, “Ukraine is expanding security cooperation with major countries around the world, including members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), in response to the unprecedented crisis,” he said. “We hope to strengthen cooperation with Korea in all aspects in the future.” “I hope,” he said.
The President’s Office announced that the two countries agreed to cooperate with friendly countries by continuing to share information on North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia and the transfer of weapons and technology between Russia and North Korea. The President’s Office said, “As the U.S. Joe Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump are responding as a team to the Ukraine situation, we have decided to communicate closely and cooperate with the United States.”
The remarks made by the special envoys when they met with President Yoon and the remarks made by Director Shin and Minister Kim when they each met with the special envoys were not made public. The President’s Office did not provide specific details regarding the “general cooperation with Korea” requested by the special envoy. However, the prevailing view is that the Ukrainian special envoy requested the government’s weapons support that day. Previously, President Zelenskyy announced that a specific request for weapons would be made using the special envoy’s visit to Korea. The President’s Office has taken a reserved stance on the possibility of weapons support, saying, “We need to hear the special envoy’s story first.”
The President’s Office announced on the 30th of last month that it would take step-by-step response measures starting from the “start of the battle in Ukraine involving North Korean troops.” We have established the principle that weapons will be divided into defensive and offensive weapons and that if weapon support is provided, we will support defensive weapons first.
Analysis suggests that it is unlikely that the President’s Office would have given Ukraine a forward-looking response without communicating with President-elect Trump that day. This is because President-elect Trump has pledged to bring an early end to the war in Ukraine once he takes office. Representative Mike Waltz, who was nominated as National Security Advisor for the second term of the Trump administration, said about the situation in the Ukraine war on the 18th (local time), “North Korea is sending more troops and South Korea is now saying it can get involved,” and “Where will the situation go?” “I don’t know if I will go,” he said.
There is an interpretation that the fact that the President’s Office mentioned “cooperation with the United States” without disclosing details about arms support to Ukraine on this day is not unrelated to this situation. In fact, starting from the US presidential election, the President’s Office is showing a cautious attitude regarding the issue of support for Ukraine. The President’s Office officially announced the dispatch of North Korean troops last month, just before the U.S. presidential election, ahead of the U.S. or NATO. However, in the middle of this month, the National Intelligence Service followed the U.S. government’s announcement of the North Korean military’s participation in hostilities and made it official. The ‘North Korean military’s participation in combat’, as warned by the President’s Office, has already begun, but the specific details of additional measures have not yet been disclosed.
The government, which pledged to take step-by-step measures, found itself in a situation where it had to consider all security threats to the Korean Peninsula caused by North Korean military intervention while being aware of the Trump regime. There are concerns that this dilemma will worsen in the future. Ukraine and Russia are also intensifying their last-minute battles in preparation for the inauguration of the second term of the Trump administration in January next year, which increases the scope for North Korean military intervention in the war and the possibility of additional compensation from Russia. The government understands that Russia has already provided equipment and anti-aircraft missiles to reinforce Pyongyang’s air defense network as compensation for sending North Korean troops.
There is an analysis that the government needs to be able to manage the level of intervention in war appropriately while reducing security threats. Jeong Han-beom, vice president of the Korean Society of International Politics, analyzed in a phone call, “Due to the relationship between the government and Ukraine and the difficult situation Ukraine is in, it may be difficult for the government to not support defensive weapons at all.” He said, “At the same time, we must consider national interests. “There is an atmosphere of ending the war all over the world, but if Korea is too deeply involved, things will look strange,” he said, adding, “It is time for the government to find an appropriate exit strategy.”
