FT: South Korea Could Turn The Tide Of Entire War In Ukraine

• 1.11.2024, 11:16

This refers to world-class weapons.

As a US ally, South Korea regularly attends NATO summits and supplies weapons to several of its countries. Analysts believe that its South Korean weapons will be compatible with those already used by Ukrainian troops. This is reported by The Financial Times.

“South Korean support for Ukraine could turn the tide of the entire conflict,” said Henry Haggard, a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors. He served as political counselor-envoy at the US Embassy in Seoul from 2021 to 2023.

“Not only do Korean firms produce world-class weapons specifically designed to help Ukraine, they also have the manufacturing capacity to deliver the necessary weapons at a pace that could be decisive,” he added.

South Korea provides indirect support to Ukraine, replenishing stocks of American 155-mm artillery shells.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korea expert at King's College London, said European countries are aware that South Korea has supplied Ukraine with more artillery shells than all European countries combined, albeit through third countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he was sending a representative to Seoul to make “detailed” requests for artillery and air defense systems amid the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia.

However, Seoul has so far refused to directly supply lethal aid to Kyiv, citing the country's Foreign Trade Law, which restricts arms exports “except for peaceful purposes”.

Pacheco Pardo said Seoul and Moscow have reached an understanding that South Korea will not provide direct lethal aid to Ukraine if Russia limits its support for North Korea.