U.S. President Donald Trump’s Sept. 4 repost of a Washington Post column urging him to press South Korea for Cheongung-II interceptors has made Seoul’s refusal to arm Ukraine harder to present as a legal requirement, because Korean law leaves the government considerable discretion over such transfers.

The original column called for a stopgap transfer from South Korea’s domestic missile stocks while Ukraine waits for additional Patriot production, arguing that the move could also repair relations after Seoul allegedly declined Trump’s request to support U.S. operations against Iran.

Trump added no commentary when he shared the piece, and there is no