Ruined residential buildings are seen in the abandoned town of Marinka in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine, Wednesday. Reuters-Yonhap
South Korea is reviewing whether to join a NATO initiative to help finance the purchase of U.S. weapons for Ukraine, diplomatic sources said Friday.
If it decides to participate, the move could deepen defense ties with Europe as Seoul seeks to expand arms sales to NATO members, while further straining relations with Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is "in continued discussions with NATO on various ways to support Ukraine," responding to a local media report that Seoul is considering participation in NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
A ministry official confirmed that NATO had asked South Korea to join the mechanism to support Ukraine. The official said Seoul's stance on assisting the war-torn nation is centered on "humanitarian aid and other nonlethal military equipment," declining to elaborate on whether the government is leaning toward participation.
The Ukrainian Embassy in South Korea said it could not immediately comment when reached by The Korea Times. The Russian Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The review follows a series of high-level exchanges between Seoul and NATO.
On Feb. 10, President Lee Jae Myung spoke by phone with Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, at Rutte’s request, and the two discussed expanding defense cooperation, according to Lee's office.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun also met NATO Deputy Secretary-General Radmila Shekerinska in Brussels on Jan. 24 and agreed to continue joint efforts in areas including defense.
Launched in July 2025 by the United States and NATO, PURL is intended to accelerate the delivery of urgently needed weapons to Ukraine. Instead of arranging separate purchases, participating countries pool financial contributions into a common package that Washington uses to supply U.S.-made arms and other critical equipment.
Source: Korea Times News
