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South Korea may assist Ukraine after North Korea’s reported Aid
South Korea is contemplating the idea of providing weapons directly to Ukraine, as there is mounting evidence that North Korean troops are getting ready to help Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.
Last week, South Korea’s NIS reported that North Korea sent 1,500 special forces soldiers to Russia’s far east for training and acclimation at local military bases to fight alongside Moscow’s troops in Ukraine.
According to reports from local media referring to the NIS, Pyongyang has chosen to send 12,000 troops organized into four brigades to Russia.
Yoon Suk Yeol Stance on Aiding Ukraine
On Tuesday, a high-ranking official from the office of South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, mentioned that Seoul might think about offering defensive and lethal weapons to Ukraine based on how things progress.
“We would consider supplying weapons for defensive purposes as part of the step-by-step scenarios, and if it seems they are going too far, we might also consider offensive use,” the presidential official informed reporters, indicating Seoul’s most forward-thinking stance on arming Ukraine so far.
The progress highlights the possibility of a split Korean peninsula getting involved in the conflict.
The president made a statement following an emergency meeting of South Korea’s national security council regarding North Korea’s growing military alliance with Russia.
South Korea, with some of the largest stockpiles of artillery shells globally, has given humanitarian aid and assistance to Ukraine, alongside participating in western-led economic sanctions against Moscow.
However, they have not given weapons to Kiev, as they have a policy against supplying arms to countries in conflict.
Kyiv is in desperate need of munitions and would appreciate Seoul’s policy change. The Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, previously urged international allies to provide a “firm reaction” to North Korea’s role in the ongoing conflict.
In the meantime, several videos have appeared recently showing North Korean soldiers training in Russia.
The Ukrainian strategic communication and information security center shared a video on Sunday that seemingly depicted North Korean soldiers being given uniforms and gear at the Sergeevka training ground in Russia’s far east.
On Tuesday, Astra, a Russian media organization not affiliated with the government, released two videos showing what seem to be North Korean troops standing outside a military facility. The men are speaking Korean and an instructor instructs soldiers to enter the building.
The clips have been geolocated to the Sergeevka training ground by independent researchers.
The Kremlin chose not to give a direct response to a query regarding the possibility of North Korean troops participating in the conflict in Ukraine, stating instead that Moscow has the sovereign right to establish connections with Pyongyang in various aspects.
Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, who met for the first time in 2019, are looking to increase military and economic collaboration to counter their increasing international isolation due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. In June, the two leaders agreed to a pact with a provision stating that they must assist each other in the event of an attack.
Dame Barbara Woodward Statement
On Monday, the UK stated that it “assesses that it is highly likely North Korea has agreed to send troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine”.
“It seems that the harder Putin finds it to recruit Russians to be cannon fodder, the more willing he is to rely on the DPRK [North Korea] in his illegal war,” Dame Barbara Woodward, the UK’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made remarks in New York.
“Putin is clearly desperate. His desperation is a danger to us all.”
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