Ukraine's first lady thanks Korea for aid, requests demining equipment and assistance in reconstruction

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Ukraine's first lady thanks Korea for aid, requests demining equipment and assistance in reconstruction

Published: 18 May. 2023, 09:34 Updated: 18 May. 2023, 09:59

Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, speaks with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at the Foreign Ministry in central Seoul on Wednesday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin met with Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska in Seoul on Wednesday and discussed the extension of humanitarian support and ways to work jointly on demining and post-war reconstruction efforts, Park's office said.

Zelenska is in Seoul as a special envoy of her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The first lady thanked the Seoul government for its assistance and solidarity amid the prolonged war with Russia and asked for its continued support by providing ambulances and other equipment for humanitarian purposes, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Zelenska also sought Korea's help with mine-removing operations, as her country has the world's largest number of buried landmines in the aftermath of the war.

Korea is working to provide Ukraine with demining and mobile X-ray detection equipment, officials said.

"Park said Korea will actively respond to the Ukrainian people's need for assistance in the face of a crisis due to the war. Korea will play an active role in Ukraine's reconstruction based on their development cooperation mechanism," the ministry said in a release.

In February, Korea announced a plan to provide additional assistance worth $130 million to Ukraine following last year's humanitarian aid worth $100 million.

Earlier in the day, Seoul's Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho signed a preliminary agreement with Ukraine to offer low-interest loans to the country through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Svyrydenko, in Seoul.

On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol also met with Zelenska at his office and vowed to provide active assistance to her country in close coordination with the international community.

Yonhap