Archive · 10 Aug 2026
South Korea cautious on Ukraine's request for air defence support
South Korea is a country that helps other countries when they are in trouble, but it does not give weapons.
Ukraine is fighting a war and asked South Korea for help protecting its skies.
South Korea said it will think about it carefully and follow its own laws.
It says yes to helping with things like energy, hospitals, schools, and healthcare, but no to sending weapons.
Ukraine's leader, President Zelensky, said North Korea is planning to send many more soldiers to help Russia fight.
He says the number could be between 30,000 and 50,000 soldiers.
South Korea says it cannot confirm this news.
South Korea is worried because North Korea and Russia working together makes its own country less safe.
It believes this cooperation breaks the rules of the United Nations.
South Korea says it is watching the situation closely and wants the cooperation to stop.
South Korea maintained a cautious stance on Ukraine's request for air defence support, reaffirming its policy of providing humanitarian assistance while withholding lethal weapons.
A senior foreign ministry official said defence material supplies always follow domestic law and that Seoul will keep reviewing measures to help Ukraine recover peace and rebuild.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a decision has been made to deploy 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory.
Zelensky urged deeper cooperation and air defence support from Seoul, while the South Korean official declined to confirm claims of diplomatic contact or the additional troop deployment.
After the June 2024 Russia-North Korea mutual defence pact, Pyongyang is believed to have sent around 20,000 combat troops and military engineers to Russia's Kursk region.
- Who
- South Korea's foreign ministry, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the governments of North Korea and Russia.
- What
- South Korea stayed cautious on Ukraine's request for air defence support, while Zelensky warned that North Korea is set to deploy 30,000 to 50,000 more troops to Russia.
- When
- The official's remarks were made Monday; Zelensky's social media post about North Korean troops came the previous day.
- Where
- Seoul, South Korea; the reported deployments concern Russian territory, including the Kursk region.
- Why
- South Korea cites legal restrictions and its policy of withholding lethal weapons, and says North Korea-Russia military cooperation directly affects its security and violates UN resolutions.
Ukraine's Position
South Korea's Position
Military aid to Ukraine
Ukraine's Position
Zelensky says Ukraine counts on air defence support and other cooperation from Seoul, despite South Korea's constitutional legal restrictions, and notes diplomats are in contact.
South Korea's Position
South Korea says defence material supplies are carried out in accordance with domestic law and maintains its policy of humanitarian assistance without supplying lethal weapons.
North Korean troop deployment
Ukraine's Position
Zelensky states a decision has been made to deploy 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans on Russian territory, arguing North Korea will gain modern warfare experience.
South Korea's Position
Seoul declined to confirm the deployment claim, but said North Korea-Russia military cooperation is directly related to South Korean security, violates UN resolutions, and should stop.
- Country
- South Korea (Seoul)
- Ukraine's request
- Air defence systems and other military capabilities
- South Korea's stance
- Cautious; humanitarian aid only, no lethal weapons
- Zelensky's deployment claim
- 30,000 to 50,000 North Korean troops to be deployed in Russia
- Estimated troops already in Kursk
- Around 20,000 combat troops and military engineers
- Russia-North Korea pact
- Mutual defence pact signed in June 2024
- Seoul's confirmation status
- Declined to confirm troop deployment or diplomatic contact claims