SEUL May 21 South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol said that Vladimir Zelensky handed over to him a whole list of items of desired «non-lethal weapons», and Seoul will carefully consider this list, the Yonhap news agency reports.
Earlier it was reported that Yoon Seok-yeol on Sunday held his first personal meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima in Japan, the negotiations took place and were organized at the request of Zelensky. After the presidential administration of the Republic of Korea reported that Yun Sok-yeol, following the meeting, promised Kyiv additional assistance, in particular, mine-clearing equipment and ambulances.
«Regarding non-lethal weapons, President Zelensky handed me a partial list today (desired assistance — ed.). We will carefully consider this issue,» Yun Suk Yeol said at a press conference when asked by a journalist whether Seoul was going to provide Ukraine with weapons assistance.
As the agency notes, the South Korean president also «avoided answering the question» about the possibility of providing precisely lethal weapons. Instead, Yoon Seok-yeol noted that Seoul will try to «quickly consider and provide» ambulances and mine-clearing equipment to Ukraine, which Zelensky's wife Elena had previously asked him to do.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked South Korea to help it with weapons, but Seoul continues to adhere to the position of the impossibility of supplying lethal weapons to Kyiv, although it provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
On May 16, President Yoon Seok-yeol met with First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenskaya, who visited South Korea, and stated that Seoul would actively assist Kyiv in close coordination with the international community.
Zelensky's wife stated at the meeting that she «understands the difficulties of South Korea with the supply of lethal weapons,» sources in the presidential administration later told the South Korean media about this. Instead, she requested non-lethal assistance, citing casualties among children and other socially disadvantaged groups. At the same time, Zelenskaya herself, in her Telegram channel, said that at a meeting with Yun Seok Yol, she asked South Korea to help Ukraine with technologies, and also mentioned the need for air defense systems.