South Korea has unveiled a $12-million package for the rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers. The budget was revealed at a meeting with NATO Indo-Pacific partner countries in Brussels as part of Seoul’s $2.3-billion mid-to long-term aid from 2024 onwards. Ministry heads from Australia, Japan, and New Zealand were in attendance during the announcement. Foreign minister Cho Tae-Yul stated that the package will go through NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package Trust Fund for Ukraine, an initiative established in 2016 to help the country rebuild its security and defense sector. The move comes after Russia criticized the country’s “unfriendly stance” when their non-lethal and humanitarian aid to Kyiv was disclosed in 2023.
Implications of the War
The countries also tackled the regional implications of North Korea’s support for Russia in the ongoing war. Cho said that Pyongyang’s choice to arm Moscow raises security concerns for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole. South Korea recently reported that the North is likely using Ukraine as a test site for its weapons by allowing Russia to use them in its operations. North Korea reportedly sent 7,000 containers of arms containing artillery shells, self-propelled rockets, and ballistic missiles. Cho added that Russia’s transfer of refined oil to its ally may threaten the global nonproliferation regime, a framework of agreements seeking to prevent the spread and development of nuclear weapons.
