WP "Korea's Shells Supplied to Ukraine Exceed Total Support from Entire Europe"

"Insufficient Support in US Production Volume"
"Indirect Support Likely Provided Through US Military"

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 4th (local time) that the amount of 155mm shells South Korea has indirectly supplied to Ukraine via the United States exceeds the total amount supplied by all of Europe. Although the U.S. has resumed conventional 155mm shell production, the domestic output cannot meet the demand, leading to expectations that indirect support through South Korea will increase in the future.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

According to WP, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the U.S. government has been grappling with the issue of supplying 155mm shells. The U.S. production can only cover about 10% of Ukraine’s monthly demand of over 90,000 rounds, making large-scale support difficult.

Consequently, the U.S. government considered support options involving South Korea, which holds a large stockpile of 155mm ammunition. However, WP reported that South Korea’s legal prohibition on supplying weapons directly to conflict zones posed a barrier, making direct support challenging.

Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Defense continued to discuss support measures with the South Korean government. When South Korea expressed willingness to accept indirect support, officials from both countries negotiated, resulting in the transfer of shells beginning earlier this year, WP reported. While WP did not specify the exact quantity of shells indirectly supplied from South Korea, it stated, "As a result, South Korea has become a country that supplied more shells to Ukraine than the combined total of all European countries."

However, it remains unclear whether the shells transferred from South Korea to the U.S. were immediately used on the Ukrainian battlefield or stored in U.S. military arsenals. The South Korean government has consistently maintained that it has not directly supplied weapons to Ukraine and has emphasized that ammunition exports occur only under the condition that the final user of the weapons is the U.S. military.