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| President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday. Joint Press Corps |
Ukrainian leader looks forward to further cooperation with S.Korea
By Lee Hyo-jin
President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to swiftly provide additional non-lethal aid to war-torn Ukraine, such as mine clearing equipment, during his first summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sunday.
The bilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The summit, which came at the request of the Ukrainian leader, lasted for about 30 minutes, according to the Korean presidential office.
"President Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for South Korea's timely provision of humanitarian support, such as medical aid, generators and computers used for educational purposes, and hoped for further assistance in non-lethal equipment," Lee Do-woon, the presidential spokesperson, said in a statement distributed to reporters.
"In response, President Yoon vowed efforts to swiftly provide other equipment that are in urgent need, such as mine clearing vehicles and ambulances," he added.
Yoon reiterated his support for and solidarity with Ukraine, pledging further diplomatic, economic and humanitarian assistance, according to the presidential office.
In his tweet uploaded following the summit, Zelenskyy said he expressed gratitude to Yoon for South Korea's humanitarian and non-lethal assistance to his country, referring specifically to demining vehicles.
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"I look forward to continued cooperation," he wrote, welcoming Seoul's attention to the projects presented earlier by his wife Olena Zelenska.
Last week, the Ukrainian first lady visited Seoul as a presidential envoy, during which she asked Yoon for the participation of South Korean businesses in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction efforts. She also requested the provision of air defense systems as well as non-lethal military equipment such as mine detectors.
During his speech at the G7 expanded summit, Yoon expressed objection to efforts to change the status quo by force, in an apparent condemnation against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"In Ukraine, there is an ongoing attempt to change the status quo by force, leading to killings and serious violations of the freedom and prosperity of the people of Ukraine. This is a clear violation of international norms and the rule of law," he said, without directly mentioning Russia.
Sunday's summit between Yoon and Zelenskyy came amid growing international attention on whether South Korea will offer military aid to Kyiv, which would be a departure from its current stance of providing only humanitarian and economic support.
During an interview with foreign media in April, Yoon said South Korea could provide arms to Ukraine depending on the direction of the war. His remarks drew warm welcomes from western nations, while triggering a furious reaction from Moscow.
However, discussions on the provision of lethal weapons were not included in the South Korean presidential office's statement on the summit between Yoon and Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader attended the G7 summit amid the 15-month-old war in Kyiv. In a joint statement, the G7 leaders condemned Russia "in the strongest terms" for invading Ukraine, which has cost thousands of lives and inflicted immense suffering on its people.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit Leaders' Meeting. Joint Press Corps |
The seven major countries also vowed to scale up penalties against Moscow, broadening the already-imposed trade and economic sanctions to ensure that exports of all industrial machinery and technology useful to Russia's aggression are banned.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Yoon held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida amid rapidly thawing bilateral relations. The meeting came just two weeks after their latest one held on May 7 in Seoul.
During the summit, the two leaders affirmed that the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan should be strengthened amid the grave regional tensions caused by North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, according to the presidential spokesperson.
Yoon also held a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Kishida on the same day. At the brief meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes, the three leaders discussed new ways to cooperate to deal with Pyongyang's illicit nuclear and missile threats and China's assertiveness. Biden invited Yoon and Kishida for a three-way summit in Washington, according to a U.S. senior official.
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