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South Korea Provides a $100 Million Loan to Ukraine

I wonder if Seoul will ever see this money paid back to them:

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed Friday that Ukraine has received a US$100 million loan from South Korea aimed at supporting the social sector.

In a post on social media X, Shmyhal said the loan is “the first budget assistance” from South Korea to support the social sector.

He said Ukraine also signed an agreement with South Korea granting access to up to $2.1 billion in funding earlier this year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Russian and Chinese Warplanes Enter into South Korea’s ADIZ

It appears the authoritarian block is sending a message to South Korea about supporting Ukraine:

South Korea scrambled fighter jets Friday after six Russian and five Chinese military aircraft entered the country’s air defense identification zone. The foreign aircraft approached the zone between 9:35 a.m. and 1:53 p.m., crossing into the buffer near the southern and eastern coasts, according to a statement from the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air defense identification zones are buffers designed by some nations to monitor and identify approaching aircraft before they enter national airspace.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong-un Meets with Russia’s Defense Minister

It is ironic that North Korea is claiming imperialists are threatening Russia’s territory when it is the imperialist Russians that have taken Ukrainian territory:

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 30, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (L) meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 30, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un (L) meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang the previous day.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met Russia’s visiting defense minister and expressed his support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, state media reported Saturday, amid deepening military cooperation between the two nations.

Kim had a “friendly and trustworthy” meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang on Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Belousov arrived in North Korea the previous day for a visit that came as North Korea has sent thousands of its troops to Russia in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. (……..)

He affirmed that “the DPRK government, army and people will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” the KCNA said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.