South Korea is likely transferring hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds for Ukraine through the US under a confidential arrangement. The decision marks a turnabout by Seoul, which had pledged the artillery in November but then balked at providing lethal assistance for months, the Wall Street Journal writes.
The Pentagon declined to say how the shells are being sent or when the transfer is to be completed but acknowledged that it has been in discussion with Seoul on buying its ammunition. South Korea’s contribution of rounds has enabled the Biden administration to delay for now a decision on whether to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.
The breakthrough on South Korea’s ammunition supply comes soon after Washington and Seoul issued a joint declaration on security issues during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Washington last month, another move to strengthen ties. That declaration gave Seoul a greater voice in consultations over a potential American nuclear response to a North Korean attack, in return for a pledge to forgo the development of its own nuclear weapons
