President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul on Wednesday, with the two sides agreeing to share information on North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia and other forms of Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation.
Yoon welcomed the delegation led by Umerov, serving as special envoy to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and expressed hope during the closed-door meeting that South Korea and Ukraine “will come up with effective countermeasures to deal with security threats posed by Russia-North Korea military cooperation, including North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia,” the presidential office said in a statement.
After paying the courtesy call at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul, the delegation met with National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the office added.
The visit comes after Zelensky said Ukraine plans to send a delegation to Seoul in a phone conversation with Yoon on Oct. 29. It comes as South Korea has been in a dilemma over providing arms to Ukraine.
Umerov then gave a detailed briefing of the recent situation in Ukraine and the trend of North Korean troops, the presidential office said, noting that Ukraine is expanding security cooperation with major countries around the world, including NATO and EU countries. He also conveyed hopes to strengthen cooperation with South Korea in the future.
The two sides agreed to cooperate with allies while continuing to share information on North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia and the transfer of weapons and technology between Russia and North Korea. They further agreed to work closely with the United States, noting that the Joe Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump are responding to the Ukraine crisis as one team.
Umerov said that he visited Seoul per Zelensky’s instructions to actively seek ways to cooperate with South Korea in response to growing Russian-North Korean military cooperation, Yoon’s office said, conveying that Kyiv was pleased at the close communication and cooperation between it and Seoul.
Ahead of the visit, Umerov was expected to carry a personal message for Yoon from Zelensky as he led a 10-person delegation, including intelligence officials, to Seoul. The trip came amid speculation that Ukraine could ask South Korea for a phased response to Russia and North Korea’s military cooperation.
The delegation was expected to share intelligence on North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia collected from the front lines of the war and seek further South Korean support for Ukraine’s war efforts, including weapons.
Some within the government have also pointed out the transition in U.S. administrations as another variable, as Washington is Seoul’s key ally and plays a major role in how Russia’s war in Ukraine will unfold. President-elect Donald Trump has been keen to end the conflict swiftly.
Yoon has hinted that South Korea could reconsider shifting from its current stance of not providing lethal aid to a country in war depending on how North-Russia’s military cooperation unfolds.
Following news of the North Koreans troop deployment to Russia, Yoon said in a press conference last month that Seoul may take “necessary measures” in a phased and flexible manner depending on the progress of such military relations.
In a press conference on Nov. 7, Yoon said he is not “ruling out” weapons support depending on the degree of involvement of North Korea’s military in Russia’s war and that Seoul could prioritize providing “defensive arms” in a phased manner.
Zelensky has repeatedly stressed Ukraine’s need for antiaircraft missiles and artillery to counter threats from Russia.
Observers speculated that the visiting Ukrainian delegation could deliver to Seoul a list of weapons Kyiv needs most urgently, which could include defensive weapons such as antiaircraft radars, interceptors and mortars, as well as 155-millimeter shells.
The South Korean government has maintained that Ukraine has yet to request weapons.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated after the Joe Biden administration reportedly authorized Ukraine to launch U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, missiles on targets inside Russia last week in response to the deployment of North Korean troops.
On Nov. 21, Russia launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at Ukraine’s Dnipro in response to the ATACMS launch.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a key air defense system and an air base in its front line Kursk region were hit with U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles launched by Ukraine and threatened retaliation.
Ukraine’s Air Force, in turn, said Russia launched a record 188 drones in a single attack on Monday night, damaging critical infrastructure.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
