South Koreans remain widely opposed to directly supplying arms to Ukraine, recent polls show, despite renewed international requests from Kyiv and allied capitals after North Korean troops were reported to be helping Russia.
Ukraine has asked Seoul for a range of weapons and Seoul has said it could consider such aid, depending on future steps by Russia and North Korea.
A Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, Yoon’s office said, amid media reports that the visit aimed to seek arms support.
“No to the South Korean government planning arms supply to Ukraine,” read a banner held by a small group of protesters gathered outside Yoon’s office in the capital.
Both sides agreed to keep up sharing of information on North Korea’s dispatch of troops to Russia as well as the exchange of technology and weapons between the two, Yoon’s office said in a statement.
The delegation also met Seoul’s national security advisor Shin Won-sik and defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and discussed cooperation between Seoul and Kyiv.
Ukraine planned to send Seoul a detailed request for arms support including artillery and an air defence system, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an October interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS.
A Western diplomat told Reuters that discussions behind the scenes focused on air defence systems designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles, but this month’s U.S. presidential election win by Donald Trump cast uncertainty over the talks.
Yoon, already battling with record low approval ratings over domestic scandals, faces wide opposition from the South Korean public to the idea of arming Ukraine, surveys have shown.
Most South Koreans viewed growing military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow as a threat, a Gallup Korea poll showed in October, but 82% opposed sending military aid, including arms.
“To the South Korean government, there will be fewer benefits for continuing to support (military aid) when there is little domestic support and the relationship with the next U.S government could deteriorate,” said Yang Uk, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
Yoon’s low approval ratings, along with little public backing for supply of weapons, are burdens sapping his mandate on foreign policy, he added.
The public, largely not sensitive to the seriousness of the war in Ukraine, is likely to focus on the downside in the event of the South’s direct involvement, Yang said.
Unlike neighbouring Japan, which has also avoided directly arming Kyiv, South Korea is one of the world’s largest weapons exporters and has inked large, lucrative defence deals with Ukraine’s neighbours.
South Korea has provided demining vehicles, body armour, and other non-lethal aid for Ukraine and has not ruled out supply of weapons to Kyiv, especially after Seoul and Washington reported the dispatch of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia.
At home, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has criticised the government for not ruling out provision of weapons aid and urged it to seek parliamentary approval for such decisions.
The DP has a majority in parliament after a landslide victory in an April election, but experts say the president can bypass the body to supply lethal weapons to another country.
In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said ties between Seoul and Moscow would be “completely destroyed” if South Korea supplied arms to Ukraine.
Russia should first ask itself what it provides to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang’s dispatch of troops and how it is threatening the security of South Korea, a senior South Korean foreign ministry official told a background briefing on Wednesday, when asked about the comments.
Seoul’s response depends on the actions of Russia and North Korea, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
https://www.reuters.com/world/south-koreans-remain-opposed-sending-arms-ukraine-2024-11-27/
China plans to increase the penetration rate of 5G communication network among individual users to more than 85% by the end of 2027, according to an action plan developed by the Ministry of Industry and Informatization of China in cooperation with 11 other agencies. In three years, there will be 38 5G base stations for every 10 thousand people. At the same time, 5G will account for 75% of mobile Internet traffic, and the number of “Internet of Things” terminals connected to 5G will exceed 100 million.
The 5G penetration rate in large and medium-sized industrial companies will reach 45% by the end of 2027, according to a document cited by Xinhua.
The ministries’ plan is aimed, in particular, at actively promoting the large-scale development of 5G applications, popularizing and applying new generation information technologies.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Informatization, as of the end of September, the number of 5G base stations in the country amounted to about 4.09 million units, and the number of 5G mobile subscribers was 981 million. The 5G penetration rate among individual users has almost reached 70%, with the total population of the country at around 1.4 billion people.
On November 26, the Central Election Commission announced a tender for voluntary insurance of motor vehicles (CASCO) and compulsory motor third party liability insurance (MTPL), according to the Prozorro e-procurement system.
The total expected cost of the purchase of services is UAH 439.2 thousand.
The last day for receipt of bids is December 4.
The winner of a similar tender a year earlier on hull insurance was IC “Ultra Alliance”.
In January-October 2024, banks imported the equivalent of $12.88 billion in cash currency to Ukraine, which is 81.4% more than in the same period last year, according to statistics from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The import of cash currency in the first ten months of 2024 is a record high since 2013, the only other record high was in the first 10 months of 2012, when the equivalent of $16.81 billion was imported. In particular, in October, banks imported the equivalent of $1.68 billion to Ukraine, compared to $1.30 billion in September and $1.09 billion in September.
According to the statistics, the US dollar and euro accounted for 68.3% and 31.6% of all imported cash in October, respectively, and 73.7% and 26.1% over the past 10 months.
Deliveries of dollars in October increased slightly compared to September, from $1.08 billion to $1.15 billion, while imports of euros almost doubled, from $229.6 million to $531.7 million.
As reported, since the beginning of 2024, the dollar has risen in price by 9.2%, or UAH 3.50, to UAH 41.5035/$1 at the official exchange rate, and by 13.5%, or UAH 4.93, since the National Bank switched to managed flexibility on October 3, 2023. Meanwhile, since the beginning of this year, the cash dollar has risen in price by about UAH 2.93 when buying to UAH 41.68/$, and by about UAH 2.33 when selling to UAH 41.75/$.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group is ready to invest in Europe and expand its presence in the market, including steel production, and is currently in the process of mergers and acquisitions of some European steel assets, said Alexander Vodovez, Chief Executive Officer of the Group, at the European Business Summit in Brussels.
“We are negotiating with several European companies to come to Ukraine. We are currently in the process of merging and acquiring some European steel assets, as we have a huge resource base and want to use it properly,” said the top manager.
According to the head of Metinvest’s CEO’s office, before the war, the group employed about 120,000 people and accounted for about 5% of Ukraine’s GDP. But with the start of the full-scale invasion, the company lost almost 50% of its enterprises, particularly in Mariupol and Avdiivka. Today, Metinvest employs about 60,000 people in Ukraine, Italy, the United States, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. About 9,000 of the company’s employees serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and about 1,000 employees have been killed. The group’s enterprises operate under the threat of shelling, with some facilities located just 10 km from the frontline.
Vodoviz emphasized the importance of entering the EU market, especially as Ukraine fights Russian aggression.
“Ukraine has the largest resource base on the European continent. And we can offer Europe access to these resources. In return, we want access to European technologies and the financial system to implement projects both in Ukraine and in the EU. But we do not need free money – we are ready to compete. We are ready to be part of the economic society of Europe and want this accession process to be completed as soon as possible,” stated the head of Metinvest’s CEO’s office.
At the same time, he clarified that the main obstacle for Ukraine on its way to European integration is the war: “We cannot simply turn a blind eye to the war, but our government has a homework assignment – to go through all the procedures for joining the European Union: monitoring, enforcement of laws, etc.” The top manager emphasized that Ukraine’s European integration will help ensure the strategic autonomy of the European steel industry from Russia.
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (uah for €1, in 01.07.2024-30.07.2024)
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