We are talking about a secret deal between Seoul and Washington, the newspaper clarifiesNEW YORK, November 11.
/tass/. The Republic of Korea will sell 100 thousand artillery shells to the United States for their subsequent transfer to Ukraine. This was reported on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing sources.
According to them, we are talking about a secret deal between Seoul and Washington, the terms of which are not specified. The source of the publication in the Pentagon clarifies that as part of the agreement, the United States will purchase 100 thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells from South Korea, which, allegedly, will be enough for "conducting intensive hostilities for several weeks."
According to the publication, the deal brokered by the United States will allow the South Korean authorities to adhere to the obligation not to send lethal weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, buying ammunition from Seoul will give Washington the opportunity not to waste its own stocks of artillery shells, the newspaper clarifies.
At the end of October, South Korean President Yun Seok-yel said that the Republic of Korea had never supplied lethal weapons to Ukraine. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai international discussion club that South Korea had decided to supply weapons to Ukraine and that this would destroy relations between Seoul and Moscow. He described Russian-South Korean relations as "good", but asked to pay attention to how Seoul might react if Russia resumed military cooperation with the DPRK.
Kiev has repeatedly appealed to Seoul to provide weapons, but the South Korean authorities indicated that they consider such a step difficult. They agreed to supply only such military items as helmets, bulletproof vests, first aid kits.
At the end of September, the Czech newspaper Mladá fronta DNES reported that South Korean-made weapons, in particular Chiron anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition, will be delivered to Ukraine in transit through the Czech Republic. According to the publication, the delivery is paid for by the American side, the weapons will be delivered to "one of the Czech arms companies", and then they will be sent to Ukraine as a gift.
