South Korean president makes surprise visit to Ukraine

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kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday in an apparent show of support for Russia’s invasion of the country.

Yoon’s office reported that the president traveled to Ukraine with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, after a trip to Lithuania for a NATO summit and then to Poland. It is the first time the South Korean president has visited Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion nearly 17 months ago.

Yoon passed through Bucha and Irpin, two small towns near kyiv where civilian bodies were found in the streets and mass graves after the withdrawal of Russian forces. He laid a wreath at a memorial to the victims of the war.

The South Korean leader was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, press adviser to the South Korean presidency Kim Eun-hye said in a statement.

South Korea has joined international sanctions against Russia and has provided Ukraine with humanitarian and financial assistance. However, he did not give him weapons, following his policy of not giving weapons to countries involved in conflicts.

A few days ago Yoon, in written responses to questions sent by The Associated Press, assured that Ukraine’s requests for demining teams, ambulances and other non-war materials are “being processed”.

He noted that South Korea has provided support to replace the Kakhovka Dam, which was destroyed last month. The Russian and Ukrainian governments accuse each other of blowing up the dam, but evidence suggests Russia may have more reason to cause flooding, fail crops and threaten drinking water supplies in that disputed area of ​​Ukraine.

“The government of the Republic of Korea is firmly committed to actively joining the United States and other liberal democracies in international efforts to defend Ukraine’s freedom,” Yoon said in his written response to AP.

On a visit to South Korea in January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked the country to give Ukraine direct military support, saying Kiev is in dire need of weapons to defend against Russian invasion.

In May, when Yoon met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska in Seoul, the president promised to increase non-lethal aid to Ukraine. Yoon’s spokesman, Lee Do Woon, said at the time that Zelenska did not ask for weapons in her conversation with Yoon.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, South Korea has struck multi-billion dollar deals to supply Poland with tanks, howitzers, jets and other weapons.

A US official said in November that the United States agreed to buy 100,000 artillery pieces from South Korean manufacturers to give to Ukraine, although the South Koreans say those munitions were going to replace American stockpiles.