'Ukraine Criticizes South Korea's Russian Oil Supplies Amid Dispute Over 'Repatriation of North Korean POWs'

[Financial News] Ukraine, which is at odds with South Korea over the disclosure of a confidential agreement on bringing North Korean POWs to South Korea, has criticized Seoul, taking issue with its supply of petroleum products to Russia.
On the 6th (local time), Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser on sanctions at the Office of the President of Ukraine, cited on Facebook a report by the British daily The Guardian that South Korea had supplied Russia with large quantities of petroleum products, including diesel, and pointed out, “This stands in stark contrast to South Korea’s sanctions policy toward Russia.”
Earlier, The Guardian reported, based on ship-tracking data and other information, that seven oil tankers transported a total of at least 176,000 tonnes of petroleum products from several South Korean ports, including Ulsan and Yeosu, to Russia’s Far East in 14 trips during July and August. The outlet said most of the products shipped were “diesel,” the fuel facing the most severe supply shortage in the Russian market, and that the volume accounted for about one-third of Russia’s fuel imports by sea.
Vlasiuk said in this regard, “South Korea’s oil supplies to Russia came at a time when Ukraine’s attacks on refineries had caused fuel shortages in Russia,” and argued, “As a result, imports from South Korea provided practical help in offsetting the effects of the loss of Russia’s own refining capacity.”
He also posted on X (formerly Twitter), assessing South Korea’s policy toward Russia and noting both positive aspects (such as expanding the list of items subject to export controls and sanctioning entities involved in North Korea-Russia military cooperation) and negative ones. Among the negative aspects, in addition to oil supplies to Russia, he cited “not participating in the price cap on Russian crude, continued purchases of Russian coal and LNG, and consideration of resuming imports of crude oil and naphtha.”
The South Korean government told The Guardian, “Under the Foreign Trade Act, we are expanding the scope of export controls to include even non-strategic items and strictly enforcing them. As a member of the international community, we support efforts to end the war in Ukraine and achieve peaceful reconstruction.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have remained silent on the South Korean government’s calls for an explanation and apology regarding the recently surfaced issue of the “repatriation of North Korean POWs.” Last month, the South Korean government expressed regret over Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure of the confidential agreement on bringing North Korean POWs to South Korea.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter