South Korea refuses to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles

The government of the Republic of Korea has declined to transfer Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.

This was reported by The Chosun Ilbo.

According to the publication, South Korean authorities were reluctant to supply modern air defense weapons, citing the need to maintain readiness for possible provocations by North Korea involving missiles.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, met with officials from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense in July. During the meeting, he asked that Kyiv be provided with a modern variant of interceptor missiles for the Patriot PAC-3.

On August 22, Zelensky said he had discussed Patriot missile supplies with U.S. President’s special envoy, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg. The Ukrainian president expressed readiness to purchase the missiles and noted the importance of any efforts in this direction.

In early August, Die Welt reported that Zelensky was in despair over a critical shortage of missiles for the American Patriot air defense systems ahead of winter and had personally appealed to the United States for their delivery.