Weapons aid to Ukraine currently not on agenda for Yoon-Biden summit: official

This photo released by the presidential office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol during an interview with The Washington Post, April 24. Yonhap

The subject of Korea possibly providing weapons aid to Ukraine is currently not on the agenda for this week's summit between Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, a presidential official said Monday.

Yoon signaled a shift in Korea's policy of providing only non-lethal aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia, saying in an interview with Reuters published last week that it might be difficult to insist only on humanitarian or financial assistance if Ukraine comes under a large-scale attack on civilians.

Earlier Monday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Ukraine will be an important topic of conversation when Yoon and Biden hold a summit at the White House on Wednesday but stopped short of elaborating on the question of weapons assistance.

A Korean presidential official later said Ukraine will be discussed within the context of global issues.

"On whether weapons support will be on the agenda, I will say that as of now, it will not," the official told reporters in Washington.

"It's fully possible to talk about the two countries' positions on the war in Ukraine as a global issue, and I think it's only normal for any leader of a country to do so at this point in time." (Yonhap)