When the South Korean government reaffirmed its existing stance that it will not provide lethal weapons in response to Ukraine's request for air defense network support, local Ukrainian media outlets reported the news extensively as a major development.

Some local media outlets showed a critical reaction, stating, "North Korea provides weapons to Russia, yet South Korea refused to support Ukraine."

Yesterday (August 11), Ukrainian state-run outlet Ukrinform and other media reported on the South Korean government's position under headlines such as "South Korea Refuses to Provide Weapons to Ukraine."

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a local broadcast interview on the 9th, "We want to receive support from South Korea in the area of air defense systems, which we lack," adding that diplomats from both countries are in contact.

While noting that he is aware of South Korea's legal restrictions, he expressed hope for cooperation. The following day, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its existing stance of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, stating, "The provision of defense materials to various countries has been carried out while complying with relevant domestic laws and policies."

Consequently, some Ukrainian media outlets highlighted North Korea's support for Russia and began criticizing South Korea's decision.

In an article titled "North Korea provides weapons to Russia, South Korea refuses to provide weapons to Ukraine," the Kyiv Post pointed out that South Korea maintains its stance of not providing lethal weapons even as North Korea supplies missiles and troops to Russia.

The Ukrainian side has argued that as North Korea participates in Russia's war, it is accumulating combat experience in modern warfare, including the operation of ballistic missiles, and that such experience could pose a threat to South Korea on the Korean Peninsula in the future.

Additionally, some outlets pointed out that while South Korea is pursuing exports or supplies of air defense weapons such as Cheongung-II to Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries, it is not providing them to Ukraine.

Foreign media analyses have also emerged suggesting that Ukraine's demands are excessive. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post noted that South Korea has legal and policy restrictions on transferring weapons to nations at war, and must also consider its own defense demands and relations with Russia.

The outlet pointed out that Ukraine's latest request could be an excessive demand for South Korea.

Russia previously warned that if South Korea provides lethal weapons to Ukraine, bilateral relations would suffer a severe blow and it could face retaliatory measures.

(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)