Seoul is not considering the possibility of sending its troops to Ukraine, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said during a press conference in Washington.
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“I’ll say it straight: sending troops (from South Korea) is not being considered at all,” the minister said.
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At the same time, Kim Yong Hyun did not deny that the South Korean military and government were working on sending their monitoring mission to Ukraine. However, the main task of such a mission, according to him, will be “not participation in hostilities, but preparation for the future.”
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The head of the Ministry of Defense noted that in the event of the DPRK allegedly joining the hostilities in Ukraine, South Korea could receive “useful data” regarding the “compatibility of Russian and North Korean weapons systems,” which would allow the country to “be well prepared for future situations.”
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The minister recalled that South Korea has already sent its observer groups to conflict zones, including during the Iraq War. But usually the duration of their business trip was 1-2 months, and the composition of the group did not exceed 15 people.
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According to Kim Yong Hyun, South Korean legislation assumes that the Minister of Defense can independently make decisions on sending “small groups” of military personnel abroad; the need to coordinate this issue with parliament exists only in the case of a full-fledged deployment of troops. The minister included the scale, timing and goals of the military mission as criteria for such a decision, stating that previously, when sending military personnel abroad “for the long-term implementation of combat missions or similar auxiliary purposes,” the Ministry of Defense always received parliamentary permission.
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Kim Yong Hyun also said that the South Korean government delegation sent to NATO and Ukraine is now “gathering information” regarding unconfirmed reports about the alleged sending of North Korean troops to the Ukrainian conflict zone, and after a comprehensive analysis, the government will determine the “basic direction” for further actions.
