Cho Tae-yong "Economic delegation to visit Ukraine as early as this fall"

Post-Ukraine War Reconstruction Demand Expected
Consideration to Lift Travel Bans in Safe Areas
Korea-US NCG to Discuss Extended Deterrence Details

Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Security Office, announced on the 17th that plans are underway for a South Korean economic delegation, corporate representatives, and high-ranking government officials to visit Ukraine as early as this fall.

Cho stated on YTN that day, "Once the war in Ukraine ends, there will be a very large demand for post-war reconstruction."

He cited the recent visit of President Yoon Suk-yeol to Ukraine, which concretized discussions on post-war reconstruction cooperation, as the reason for the planned visits by businesspeople and high-ranking officials. Cho said, "During the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima last May, President Zelensky expressed to President Yoon that since South Korea is a country with strong economic capabilities, he hoped South Korea would definitely participate in the post-war reconstruction process. We had a general conversation about this," adding, "This time in Ukraine, we discussed specific sectors and talked about the entry of Korean companies and cooperation with South Korea."

He continued, "During this visit to Ukraine, there were earnest remarks from President Zelensky regarding more specific sectors, such as ICT, semiconductors, and infrastructure," and explained that although Ukraine is currently designated as a travel-restricted area, necessary measures are planned to allow businesspeople to visit safe regions directly.

Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Security Office, shakes hands with Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, at the Marinsky Palace, the presidential residence in Kyiv, ahead of the South Korea-Ukraine summit on the 15th (local time), while President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee look on.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding criticism that the visit to Ukraine should have been canceled due to damage caused by heavy rains, Cho explained, "President Yoon boarded a Ukrainian train at 8 p.m. local time on the 14th. Until then, there was no large-scale damage like now," adding, "To my recollection, it was either the early stage of the Oseong Tunnel incident or before we received reports."

He also emphasized that real-time reports and instructions on the heavy rain response were received even while in Ukraine. Cho said, "President Yoon had been continuously receiving real-time reports since the rain began on the 11th and held four video conferences with Seoul before returning," adding, "(However, as the situation became urgent) some schedules, including the visit to the World War II memorial invited by President Zelensky, were inevitably canceled, and the departure from Ukraine was slightly expedited."

Cho particularly stressed, "President Yoon consistently gave two instructions. First, to evacuate citizens from dangerous areas to safe areas; second, to block off dangerous areas. In other words, the consistent presidential directive was to minimize casualties."

Meanwhile, regarding criticism that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida did not respond to some of President Yoon’s demands related to Fukushima contaminated water during the South Korea-Japan summit held on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Cho responded, "There was sufficient behind-the-scenes discussion followed by dialogue between the leaders. All three points (participation of Korean experts in verifying the discharge process, real-time information sharing, and suspension of discharge if radioactive material exceeds standards) will be implemented."

Regarding the first meeting of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to be held in Seoul on the 18th, Cho emphasized, "The goal is to institutionalize South Korea’s voice when the U.S. operates its nuclear weapons and implements extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threat," adding, "There will be very detailed discussions on joint planning and execution of nuclear weapon operations, joint exercises, and establishing a communication channel for extended deterrence including nuclear weapons between South Korea and the U.S. during emergencies, including at the presidential level."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.