S.Korean President visits Ukraine unannounced in show of support
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Seoul: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Saturday made an unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine, showing a strong signal of support.
Yoon arrived in Ukraine following a three-day official visit to Poland, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.
According to reports, he will be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day and is expected to discuss areas where South Korea can provide additional aid.
Earlier on Saturday, Yoon visited the site of mass killings in Bucha near Kyiv, before visiting Irpin, a civilian residential area that has been subject to large-scale missile attacks, the press secretary said.
He was also scheduled to lay a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in Kyiv.
Further details are yet to be disclosed.
Yoon has shown strong support for Ukraine in line with his campaign for freedom, human rights, and the rule of law in solidarity with like-minded nations.
South Korea has provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in its protracted war with Russia but denied the country's requests for lethal weapons.
This will be the second meeting between Yoon and Zelensky after one held on the sidelines of a G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May.
At the time, Yoon promised additional non-lethal aid, including demining equipment and ambulances.
Yoon's visit to Ukraine came at the end of a two-leg trip that earlier took him to Lithuania for the NATO Summit and then to Poland for an official visit.