Meeting with Kim Yong-hyun after a courtesy call on President Yong-hyun… The specific details of the consultation are not disclosed.
Ukraine, hopeful observations such as K-9, Cheongung-II, radar… Korea takes a cautious stance after Trump’s election
Umerou Ukrainian National Defense Arrives at the Ministry of Defense Building
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ho-jun = 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. 2024.11.27 [email protected]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ho-jun = As Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerou, who is visiting Korea, paid a courtesy visit to President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 27th and then met with Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, attention is focused on what request he made to Korea.
Ukraine, which is at war after being invaded by Russia, is known to hope that Korea will provide support for weapons systems such as air defense networks and self-propelled artillery, and attention is being paid to whether Minister Umerou has made a request in this regard.
Minister Umerou, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s special envoy, entered the country via Incheon Airport on the morning of the 27th via Polish flight.
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It is reported that the Ukrainian special envoy led by Minister Umerou visited Korea for the purpose of sharing information regarding the dispatch of South Korean and North Korean troops to the Russia-Ukraine war and requesting weapons support.
The special envoy first visited the Presidential Office in Yongsan and paid a courtesy call on President Yoon.
Minister Umerou visited Korea with a government-wide delegation consisting of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Economy in accordance with President 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. “We are pleased that close communication and cooperation between the two countries has been taking place recently through various channels,” the President’s Office said.
He said, “I hope to strengthen cooperation with South Korea,” and explained in detail the recent war situation and trends in North Korea’s troop dispatches.
The President’s Office did not conduct a separate press briefing after distributing materials on the special envoy’s visit to Ukraine that included these details. It has been reported that it was decided not to disclose the details of discussions with the special envoy or Ukraine’s request.
Minister Umerow then visited the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building and had a meeting with Minister Kim. This was the first meeting between the defense ministers of Korea and Ukraine.
Minister Umerow, who arrived at the Ministry of National Defense building this evening, did not answer Yonhap News’ question, ‘Did you request weapons support from Korea?’ and hurried into the building for a meeting with Minister Kim.
The Ministry of National Defense decided not to disclose the contents of the discussions that took place at the Korea-Ukraine defense ministers’ meeting.
It is possible that Minister Rustem asked President Yoon and Minister Kim to provide weapons to Ukraine, which was illegally invaded by Russia.
It is known that Ukraine needs air defense systems such as radar and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as self-propelled artillery and artillery shells.
In an interview with KBS on the 30th of last month, President Zelenskyy said about the weapons support he wanted from South Korea, “After the North Korean military receives official status as an army that came to fight Ukrainian citizens, we will send a specific request,” and “This will include artillery and air defense systems.” “It is,” he said.
Specifically, Ukraine is said to be hoping that Korea will provide the K-9 self-propelled howitzer and Cheongung-II (medium-range surface-to-air guided weapon system), which have established themselves as key items of ‘K-Defense’ due to their excellent performance.
Initially, South Korea, looking at the progress of Russia-North Korea military cooperation following North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia, established a policy not to rule out providing Ukraine with offensive weapons as well as defensive weapons. Donald Trump, who had pledged to end the war in Ukraine, was elected as U.S. president. Afterwards, he took a cautious stance.
During the election process, President-elect Trump expressed his intention to end the Ukraine war early by saying things like, “We can end (the war) within 24 hours of taking office” and “If elected, we will resolve it before taking office.”
From President-elect Trump’s perspective, there is a possibility that ‘Korea’s weapons support’ will be viewed negatively as it is a way for Ukraine to continue the war.
The reason that both the President’s Office and the Ministry of Defense decided to keep quiet about whether the Ukrainian special envoy requested weapons support is interpreted as taking these sensitivities into consideration.
A government official said, “Even if Ukraine requests weapons support, the only answer we can give is that we will consider it,” and said there is a possibility that we will maintain a cautious attitude until President Trump takes office.
Another official said, “We are not considering any specific weapons system support,” and added, “(Even if Ukraine requests it), we will comprehensively review whether support is appropriate under the current situation.”
Report via KakaoTalk okjebo
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2024/11/27 21:16 Sent
