April 27, 2024
Analysis

Seoul and Kyiv say Korean War is like conflict in Ukraine, and not alike at all

Leaders have underlined similarities when it aligns with their interests, while seeking to avoid a Korean-style division

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol drew parallels between North Korea’s invasion of the South seven decades ago and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during a surprise meeting with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend.

But while Seoul has drawn comparisons to the Korean War to promote solidarity with the U.S. and its allies before, the implications of Yoon’s remarks likely raised a few eyebrows in both Kyiv and Moscow, where few if any see an all but permanently divided and heavily militarized peninsula as a template for what they seek to achieve.

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