SEOUL, February 25. /TASS/. Seoul will join international sanctions against Russia, but is not considering imposing its own unilateral restrictions, Park Soo-hyun, a representative of the South Korean President’s administration said on the air of the TBS TV channel on Friday.
"Naturally, we will join the US and European sanctions against Russia," the official said, adding that "now is not the time to take independent steps." In addition, he said, the South Korean government "should take into account that trade turnover with Russia is growing".
On February 24, President Moon Jae-in and the country's Foreign Ministry condemned Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and Donbass. The foreign ministry pointed out that South Korea, "as a responsible member of the international community, supports its efforts, including economic sanctions, to peacefully resolve the situation and deter armed aggression."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later on Thursday that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. It emphasized that Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons.