South Korean president meets Ukraine’s delegation to discuss Moscow-Pyongyang ties

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul on Nov. 27 to discuss the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Several media outlets reported that the Ukrainian delegation is visiting Seoul to seek arms supplies, something the East Asian country has been reluctant to provide.

More recently, Yoon said that the South Korean government is not ruling out changing its stance and providing defense support in light of North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia.

During the meeting, the two sides “agreed to continue sharing information on North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia and on weapons and technology transfers between Russia and North Korea, while working together with allied nations,” the South Korean Presidential Office said, according to Yonhap.

Ukrainian officials also reportedly met with National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to discuss intelligence on North Korean troops.

Pyongyang is believed to have dispatched over 10,000 troops to aid Russia’s war, with the first clashes with Ukrainian forces reported in Kursk Oblast. North Korea has also become Moscow’s leading supplier of artillery shells and ballistic missiles.

Neither the Ukrainian delegation nor South Korean officials commented on whether Umerov arrived in Seoul to seek military supplies.

Experts told the Kyiv Independent that a rapid supply of arms to Ukraine is unlikely due to South Korea’s legal contains on providing weapons to a combat zone. A recent poll also showed that while the majority of South Koreans see the growing Russian-North Korean ties as a threat, 82% oppose sending arms to Ukraine.

According to the experts, South Korea could provide the most significant support to Ukraine through ammunition supplies. The country fields not only 155 mm artillery but also stores 3.4 million 105 mm rounds compatible with some of Ukraine’s guns.

A South Korean official recently said that direct supplies of 155 mm ammunition are not on the table, with Yoon commenting that Seoul is currently looking at the possibility of providing “defensive weapons,” without providing details.