SEOUL (Reuters): South Koreans remain widely opposed to directly supplying arms to Ukraine, polls show, despite renewed international requests from Kyiv and allied capitals after North Korean troops were reported to be helping Russia.
Ukraine has asked Seoul for a range of weapons and Seoul has said it could consider such aid, depending on future steps by Russia and North Korea.
A Ukrainian delegation including Defense Minister Rustem Umerov were set to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as early as Wednesday amid media reports that their visit aimed to seek arms support.
Officials at South Korea’s presidential office and foreign ministry declined to confirm the reports to Reuters, however.
“No to the South Korean government planning arms supply to Ukraine,” read a banner held by a small group of protesters outside Yoon’s office in Seoul, the capital.
In an October interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would send a detailed request to Seoul for arms support, including artillery and an air defense system.
A Western diplomat told Reuters that discussions behind the scenes focused on air defense systems designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles, but this month’s US presidential election win by Donald Trump cast uncertainty over the talks.
Yoon, already suffering record low approval ratings due to domestic scandals, faces wide opposition from the South Korean public to the idea of arming Ukraine, surveys have shown.
Most South Koreans viewed growing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow as a threat, a Gallup Korea poll showed in October, but 82 percent opposed sending military aid, including arms.
“To the South Korean government, there will be fewer benefits for continuing to support (military aid) when there is little domestic support and the relationship with the next US government could deteriorate,” said Yang Uk, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
Yoon’s low approval ratings, along with little public backing for supply of weapons, are burdens sapping his mandate on foreign policy, he added.
The public, largely not sensitive to the seriousness of the war in Ukraine, is likely to focus on the downside in the event of the South’s direct involvement, Yang said.
Unlike neighboring Japan, which has also avoided directly arming Kyiv, South Korea is one of the world’s largest weapons exporters and has inked large, lucrative defense deals with Ukraine’s neighbors.
South Korea has provided demining vehicles, body armor, and other non-lethal aid for Ukraine and has not ruled out supply of weapons to Kyiv, especially after Seoul and Washington reported the dispatch of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia.
At home, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has criticized the government for not ruling out provision of weapons aid and urged it to seek parliamentary approval for such decisions.
The DP has a majority in parliament after a landslide victory in an April election, but experts say the president can bypass the body to supply lethal weapons to another country.
In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said ties between Seoul and Moscow would be “completely destroyed” if South Korea supplied arms to Ukraine.
Russia should first ask itself what it provides to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang’s dispatch of troops and how it is threatening the security of South Korea, a senior South Korean foreign ministry official told a background briefing on Wednesday, when asked about the comments.
Seoul’s response depends on the actions of Russia and North Korea, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
