South Korean defense startup Newtype Industries says it never stopped working with Ukraine, its founder and CEO Sung-won (Joe) Cho told Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on 6 November. He rejected a report by The Diplomat, a magazine covering the Asia-Pacific region, that a diplomatic row between Seoul and Kyiv had ended Ukrainian trials of the company’s AI artillery software. Cho said neither he nor anyone else at Newtype had spoken to the magazine about the matter.

Ukraine fights Russia’s invasion partly with foreign technology that companies test on its front lines. South Korea, a major arms producer, has tried to keep supporting Ukraine while its relations with Kyiv sour. Seoul is withdrawing about half its embassy staff from Kyiv, saying Ukraine broke an understanding to keep the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers confidential, which Kyiv denies. Any sign that the dispute is spilling into military cooperation matters to both countries.

A report of an order from above

Cho told the magazine in an interview that in mid-October a Ukrainian representative overseeing the cooperation passed on an order from above to stop all work, The Diplomat reported on 5 November. It quoted him as blaming the diplomatic conflict between the two countries. Since then, contact with Ukrainian partners had stopped, the magazine wrote.

Newtype had been testing Barbara, software meant to speed up artillery targeting. A soldier dictates a report into a smartphone, and the AI turns it into a structured message for the fire direction officer. It can flag possibly wrong coordinates or a target in a civilian area, but a human makes the final decision to fire. Canada-headquartered advisory firm Reaktion Group connected the startup with two Ukrainian units, and Newtype expected to finish testing in 2026, according to The Diplomat.

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“Completely false,” the CEO says

Cho called the report about halted Barbara tests completely false. He also explained why his company works with Ukraine.

“For me and Newtype, it is the greatest honor to help Ukrainians defend their country. Koreans know what it is to be invaded,” Cho said.

Neither The Diplomat nor Ukrainian officials had commented on his denial by the time of publication.

A rift over North Korean prisoners

The dispute began after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had handed two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Seoul recalled its ambassador in October. Some European diplomats in Seoul also question whether South Korea is tilting toward Russia, while Seoul says it backs ending the war.