Korea says it will work to ‘protect’ Ukraine, mum on delivery of shells to Germany

Poland's military take part in drills with NATO soldiers in the Vistula Spit, Poland on Monday amid the Ukrainian crisis. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Ministry of National Defense neither confirmed nor denied Tuesday a Korean news report that Korea has been transporting hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Germany.

However, it also stressed that it has been discussing ways "to protect Ukraine's freedom" with the United States.

"I can't specifically confirm the contents of the report, and it is in fact not an issue for me to confirm," said Jeon Ha-kyu, a Defense Ministry spokesman, when asked about the report in a press briefing Tuesday.

"However, the Korean and U.S. governments have been discussing support plans to protect Ukraine's freedom, and our government has also been actively pushing for things like military supplies."

Public broadcaster MBC reported Monday evening that Korea has been sending hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Germany for quite some time.

The report, based on estimates taken from testimonies from truck drivers, said that at least 300,000 shells were shipped overseas.

This comes despite the Korean government's official position that it will not provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, though it is open to humanitarian aid.

The issue became a hot topic recently after leaked classified Pentagon documents indicated that U.S. intelligence authorities may have been spying on its allies, including on Korea's deliberations on supplying ammunition to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

One purported top secret U.S. intelligence document showed that Korean presidential aides had been "mired in concerns" that the United States would divert artillery shells purchased from Korea to Ukraine.

These senior aides had been allegedly worried that the United States would pressure Korea to change its existing policy against providing lethal aid to countries at war. They were also mulling sending ammunition to Poland for possible transfer to Ukraine.

The highly sensitive Pentagon documents that were leaked on social media — which led to the arrest last week of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsman — led to worries in Korea that the United States has been wiretapping the Yongsan presidential office.

The Korean government has downplayed the concerns, cliaming many leaked documents as being "fabricated" without confirming which ones.

The United States has a "very good relationship" with Korea, a Pentagon spokesperson said Monday after recent allegations of possible wiretapping of Korea's presidential office by U.S. intelligence authorities.

When asked if the United States intended to apologize to Korea over the wiretapping, if true, Sabrina Singh, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, said "this is an ongoing review," noting that the matter has been referred to the Department of Justice "as it is criminal in nature."

But she noted that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials have stressed that their "commitment is rock solid and we have a positive relationship with South Korea."

Referring to a conversation last week between Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Austin, who agreed that many of the Pentagon leaks had been fabricated, Singh said that U.S. authorities are still "doing a review of the documents" and are "assessing and reviewing to see if any documents were further manipulated."

She also said she was not able to confirm the "intentions of the individual" when asked if there had been any attempt to damage U.S. and Korean relations by leaking the document.

Regarding his upcoming state visit to the United States, President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the Korea-U.S. alliance "is not a relationship swayed by interests, but one based on the universal values of a liberal democracy and market economy,” according to Lee Do-woon, the presidential spokesman, in a briefing.

Lee quoted Yoon as saying, “Korea and the United States are a resilient value-based alliance that can fully adjust even if there is a conflict of interest or a problem arises,” apparently referring to the recent U.S. wiretapping controversy.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]