South Korea will not supply lethal weapons to Ukraine because of a law that bans the delivery of such arms to countries where military conflicts are ongoing. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
The Hankyoreh newspaper, citing a representative of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained the reason for this decision. On August 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Ukrainian media, asked South Korea for air defense systems.
"Our country has been supplying defense products to other states in accordance with the requirements of domestic legislation and state policy, and will continue to do so in the future," the South Korean Foreign Ministry representative said.
South Korean law prohibits the supply of lethal weapons to countries where armed conflicts are ongoing. Additionally, the user of the weapon must use it only for peaceful or defensive purposes.
The Foreign Ministry noted that so far South Korea has provided support to Ukraine in other areas, including the energy sector. The ministry also stated that South Korea plans to participate in future efforts to rebuild Ukraine.