(3rd LD) Yoon makes surprise visit to Ukraine in show of support

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) and first lady Kim Keon Hee visit a residential area destroyed in the war in Irpin, Ukraine, on July 15, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and first lady Kim Keon Hee bow their heads in tribute at the grave of a victim of mass killings in Bucha, Ukraine, on July 15, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by the presidential office, shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (front) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (3rd from R) visiting a war-torn area in Irpin in northern Ukraine on July 15, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) Yoon-Ukraine visit

(3rd LD) Yoon makes surprise visit to Ukraine in show of support

(ATTN: UPDATES with presidential official's background briefing; ADDS photo)

By Lee Haye-ah

WARSAW, July 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Saturday, his office said, sending a strong signal of support for the war-torn nation.

Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrived in Ukraine following a three-day official visit to Poland, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.

He will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later in the day to discuss areas where South Korea can provide additional aid.

Earlier Saturday, Yoon visited the site of mass killings in Bucha, near Kyiv, before visiting Irpin, a civilian residential area that has been subject to large-scale missile attacks, the press secretary said.

He was also scheduled to lay a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv and hold a joint press conference with Zelenskyy following their summit.

A presidential official told reporters Yoon's visit came at Zelenskyy's invitation, and followed internal deliberations over security and safety, and the need for a visit, before Yoon made the final decision.

"We are preparing comprehensive and concrete measures for assistance and cooperation between Ukraine and South Korea in keeping with the principles South Korea has maintained so far," the official said, adding the summit became necessary for detailed discussions on cooperation during the war and in the post-war reconstruction effort.

The official said South Korea understood the invitation as a reflection of Ukraine's expectations for South Korea in terms of its role in the protracted war against Russia.

Yoon has shown strong support for Ukraine in line with his campaign for freedom, human rights and the rule of law in solidarity with like-minded nations.

South Korea's assistance to Ukraine has included military supplies, such as first-aid kits, medicine, portable mine detectors and protective suits, but the country has denied any request for lethal weapons.

This will be the second Yoon-Zelenskyy meeting after one held on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May.

At the time, Yoon promised additional non-lethal aid, including demining equipment and ambulances.

Controversy arose earlier this year after Yoon told Reuters in April that it might be difficult to insist only on humanitarian or financial support in the event of large-scale attacks on civilians, massacres or serious violations of the laws of war.

The same month, news reports on a set of leaked Pentagon documents alleged the presidential office grappled with a U.S. request for ammunition for Ukraine in March.

Yoon's visit to Ukraine came at the end of a two-leg trip that earlier took him to Lithuania for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and then to Poland for an official visit.

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