Ukraine asks to buy weapons from South Korea — TV – World

SEOUL, November 28. /TASS/. Volodymyr Zelenskyi sent a special delegation headed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov to Seoul for negotiations on the purchase of weapons from South Korean defense companies, SBS TV reports.

The South Korean government was “not enthusiastic” about the proposal, the report said.

On Wednesday, Umerov met with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun. During the visit, it became known that Ukraine is ready to pay for weapons and ammunition, and does not insist on receiving them for free.

According to SBS, Ukraine was particularly interested in KM-SAM systems (Korean medium-range anti-aircraft missiles or Cheon-gung), as well as radars for air defense and counter-battery.

Ukraine approached a number of South Korean defense companies, signaling its readiness to buy weapons. However, the Ministry of Defense was instructed to refrain from unauthorized contacts. Moscow has repeatedly warned that the supply of weapons to Ukraine will destroy bilateral relations.

SBS reported that US President-elect Donald Trump’s stated intention to resolve the conflict as soon as possible may be one of the factors holding back South Korea’s military cooperation with Kyiv. In addition, the stocks of KM-SAM systems, K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers in the Republic of Korea are insufficient for export.