Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Spoke about hypothetical situation... No comment"
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to questions regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's remarks hinting at the possibility of weapons support to Ukraine by stating, "Our government's position on Ukraine remains unchanged."
At a regular briefing on the 20th, spokesperson Lim Soo-seok said, “I understand that the president's interview with Reuters also mentioned some countries. However, since the mention of certain (Russian) countries was about hypothetical situations, we do not intend to comment on that.”
Spokesperson Lim stated, “Our government is actively participating in the international community's efforts to protect Ukraine's freedom and restore peace, including humanitarian aid.” He also mentioned at a regular briefing in January that "Our government's policy of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine remains unchanged."
In the interview the previous day, President Yoon said, “When large-scale attacks on civilians, mass killings that the international community cannot tolerate, or serious violations of the laws of war occur, it may be difficult to insist solely on humanitarian or financial support,” thereby mentioning for the first time the possibility of directly supplying weapons to Ukraine.
In response, the Russian presidential office immediately issued a statement saying, “Starting to supply weapons means partially intervening in this war.”
Currently, it is known that South Korea and Russia continue necessary communications, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Moscow maintains a general level of relations.
According to diplomatic sources, no official protest has been received through diplomatic channels from Russia, and since the Russian presidential office's position was given in response to a reporter's inquiry, the situation is being closely monitored for now.
The government currently does not plan to issue any separate explanation or position regarding President Yoon's remarks through diplomatic channels to Russia.
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