S. Korea should exert more pressure on Russia over Ukraine: President-elect

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South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol told The Washington Post on Friday that his country should play a more active role in the international campaign against Russia over the war in Ukraine.

"We should take part in the international pressure campaign on Russia, which the current government is doing to a certain extent," Yoon said, adding that when the Republic of Korea (ROK) is asked by the international community to participate more "we need to firmly demonstrate our attitude of respect for the international rules-based order."

According to the President-elect, many hindrances impede South Korean arms deliveries to Ukraine, which is why his country provided $10 million worth of humanitarian aid only. He stressed that his country should provide even more such aid.

NATO Military Committee Chair Rob Bauer had said on April 12 that South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Won In-choul reiterated to him that Seoul will not supply Ukraine with "lethal weapons".

Bauer had arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a four-day visit.

At the Polish Embassy in Seoul, Bauer told reporters, "I know that South Korea is doing a lot already in terms of normally thought aid, and humanitarian aid and financial help. I think that is extremely important for Ukraine, and I hope that will continue also with, of course, the incoming government," as cited by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged South Korea to send Ukraine weapons, despite the fact that the South Korean Defense Minister told his Ukrainian counterpart in a phone call last Friday that Seoul would be unable to do so, citing its own security needs amid Korean Peninsula tensions as an excuse.