Photo/Illutration South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul looks on as he talks with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (not pictured) during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on November 04, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Pool via REUTERS)

SEOUL--A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is visiting South Korea this week to ask for weapons aid to be used by Kyiv in its war with Russia, according to media reports.

The delegation had met with South Korea’s National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik to exchange views on the conflict in Ukraine, the DongA Ilbo newspaper reported on Wednesday, without giving a source.

The South China Morning Post also reported this week that a Ukrainian delegation was due to visit South Korea to request weapons aid, citing an informed source.

The delegation was expected to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as early as Wednesday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Asked for comment, an official at Yoon’s office declined to confirm the reports.

A spokesperson for South Korea’s defense ministry also declined to confirm whether a Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Seoul during a regular media briefing on Tuesday.

In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS in October, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv would send a detailed request to Seoul for arms support including artillery and an air defense systems.

Ukrainian media, quoting a video distributed by the defense ministry of a conference Umerov held this week with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, said participants had examined Ukraine’s urgent defense needs.

The reports said Umerov stressed the need for advanced air defense systems in the face of intensified Russian attacks on infrastructure and also for more artillery ammunition.

Seoul, which has emerged as a leading arms producer, has been under pressure from some Western countries and Kyiv to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons but has so far focused on non-lethal aid including demining equipment.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, asked earlier this month whether Seoul would send weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea aiding Russia, said all possible scenarios were under consideration and Seoul would be watching the level of participation by North Korean troops in Russia and what Pyongyang received from Moscow in return.

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