Presidential office denies Japanese news report on Yoon's possible visit to Ukraine

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday denied a Japanese news report that Yoon could visit Ukraine in July.

Japanese broadcaster TBS reported Thursday, citing multiple Japanese government sources, that discussions are under way about Yoon attending a NATO summit to be held in Lithuania in July, and he could visit the war-torn Ukraine before or after the summit.

"There is no such plan whatsoever," a senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency. "Only when there is a qualitative change in our assistance to Ukraine would it be possible to make a visit and hold a summit."

South Korea has sent various forms of nonlethal aid to Ukraine but has stayed away from weapons aid.

Yoon met for the first time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday and promised additional aid, including demining equipment and ambulances.

Another presidential official dismissed the report as "inaccurate," expressing concerns that such misleading reports could undermine trust between the two countries.

khj@yna.co.kr
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