South Korea ranks near the bottom of major democracies contributing aid to Ukraine and near the top for weapons sales since war hit the country. That has put South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in a tough spot during a high-stakes visit to Europe.
Yoon was given a seat at the table at the NATO summit in Vilnius as the bloc seeks help from partners such as South Korea, Japan and Australia to aid Kyiv in beating back Russia’s full-scale invasion.
His next stop is Poland, the biggest buyer of South Korean weapons, where Yoon and dozens of executives from the country’s arms industry will hold talks on Thursday. Some of the companies will discuss reconstruction of Ukraine as Poland has turned into the world’s gateway to Ukraine.