South Korea reached an agreement last month to lend the United States 500,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery shells that could give Washington greater flexibility to supply Ukraine with ammunition, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The DongA Ilbo newspaper cited unnamed government sources saying that South Korea decided to “lend” the ammunition instead of selling in order to minimise the possibility of South Korean shells being used in the Ukraine conflict.
It said the loaned shells would be used primarily by the United States to fill its stockpile.
Having bought 100,000 rounds of the shells last year, the U.S. government had asked to buy the same amount or more in February, but the South Korean government sought another way to supply the ammunition to its ally.
“We’ve opted to significantly increase the volume of shells but take the rental method, after exploring how to respond to the request of the blood ally in good faith while sticking to the government principle of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine,” an unnamed source was quoted as saying.
Both Seoul and Washington have previously confirmed that they were negotiating an artillery supply deal, but there has been no official word on whether any agreement was finalised.
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