SEOUL: South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged Saturday to 'expand the scale' of his country's humanitarian and non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine, after a summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
"Seoul will expand the scale of supplies from last year when we provided materials such as helmets and bullet-proof vests", he said at a press briefing after the two leaders met.
Yoon, who earlier visited the town of Bucha on his unannounced visit to Ukraine, added that humanitarian aid would be increased to $150 million in 2023, from $100 million last year.
South Korea, the world's ninth-largest arms exporter, has sent humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and has also sold tanks and howitzers to Poland, a key ally for Kyiv as it battles invading Russian forces.
However, it has a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to active conflict zones, which it has stuck to despite repeated requests for more help from the United States, European allies and Ukraine itself.
Seoul, which remains technically at war with nuclear-armed North Korea, produces significant volumes of NATO-compatible weaponry, including its tanks, howitzers and sought-after shell ammunition.
"Ukraine now reminds me of South Korea of the past," Yoon added, hailing the international assistance that allowed his country to 'pull off a miraculous victory' over the North and eventually rise to become one of the world's major economies.
Seoul has previously hinted it could reconsider its policy of not supplying lethal aid, Yoon saying earlier this year that a large-scale Russian attack on civilians could tip the balance.
But in May, South Korea dismissed a US media report that its artillery rounds were headed to Ukraine, saying its position on not providing lethal aid to Kyiv was unchanged.
Experts warn that South Korea is in a tricky position because of its economic ties with Russia, its 15th-largest trading partner as of 2022, as well as Moscow's influence over North Korea.