President Yun suggests the possibility of military aid to Ukraine

◀ Anchor ▶

President Yoon Seok-yeol indirectly hinted at the possibility of military aid to Ukraine.

It is worth noting whether the government’s policy of not supporting lethal weapons to other countries will be modified, with the condition that civilians are subject to a large-scale attack.

Reporter Lee Jeong-eun reports.

◀ Report ▶

In an interview with Reuters published ahead of the Korea-US summit, President Yoon Seok-yeol mentioned aid to Ukraine.

“If there is a massive attack on civilians or a serious breach of the laws of war, it can be difficult to demand humanitarian and financial support alone,” he said.

At the same time, President Yoon added, “I believe there will be no limit to the scope of aid to defend and recover a country that has been illegally invaded.”

This is the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that the Korean government has hinted at the possibility of military aid other than humanitarian aid, although clues such as attacking civilians and breaking the law of war have been attached.

For this reason, there is interest in whether the government’s position, which drew a line that support for lethal weapons is impossible, will be reviewed.

In recently leaked US secret documents, it was revealed that the US is pressuring South Korea to provide weapons and that Korean officials seem to be in trouble.

On the issue of North Korea, President Yoon drew a line saying, “We will not hold an inter-Korean summit to show off,” and said, “We will develop ‘high-performance and high-power weapons’ in preparation for the North Korean threat .”

“We are open to dialogue about humanitarian aid, but we oppose inter-Korean talks to be used in domestic politics.”

At the same time, he said he would discuss strong extended deterrence, such as ‘information sharing and joint action’ with the US.

Extended deterrence is a concept where the US provides deterrence by activating a nuclear umbrella or missile defense system if South Korea is threatened with a nuclear attack, and the two countries are discussing specific plans.

Regarding the conflict between China and Taiwan, Reuters said he emphasized that “I am opposed to changing the status quo by force.”

This is Lee Jeong-eun from MBC News.