South Korea warns it may supply arms to Ukraine amid reports of North Korean troops in Russia

The concern remains tense, with some Russia and North Korea denying the allegations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that 10,000 North Korean troops are being prepared to articulation Russian forces .

South Korea’s interest is that Russia whitethorn reward North Korea with precocious weapons technology, enhancing its atomic and rocket capabilities, and straight threatening South Korea’s security.

In response, South Korea’s overseas ministry called the Russian ambassador to sermon the matter, and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun stated that South Korea volition respond jointly with the planetary assemblage to code this menace .

The assembly agreed to instrumentality phased countermeasures, linking the level of their effect to the progression of Russian-North Korean subject cooperation. These measures could see diplomatic, economic, and subject options, with the anticipation of South Korea sending some antiaircraft and violative weapons to Ukraine.

A elder South Korean statesmanlike official, speaking connected information of anonymity, explained that North Korea whitethorn question precocious Russian exertion to cleanable its atomic rocket systems. The authoritative besides expressed interest that Russia’s assistance successful modernising North Korea’s outdated accepted weapons and acquiring space-based surveillance systems would airs a superior information menace to South Korea.

Since Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, South Korea has supported US-led sanctions against Moscow and provided humanitarian and fiscal assistance to Kyiv. However, it has refrained from supplying arms, successful enactment with its argumentation of not providing weapons to countries actively progressive successful conflicts.

Last week, South Korea’s quality bureau confirmed that North Korea had dispatched 1,500 peculiar forces to Russia successful October. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy besides stated that quality indicated 10,000 North Korean soldiers were preparing to articulation Russian forces successful Ukraine.

Increased North Korea-Russia cooperation

North Korea and Russia person importantly boosted their subject practice successful caller years. In June, the 2 countries signed a large defence agreement, pledging communal subject assistance if either were attacked. South Korea had antecedently said it would see sending arms to Ukraine, and reiterated that stance connected Tuesday.

South Korea’s spy bureau besides reported that North Korea had shipped much than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles, and different accepted weapons to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its depleting stockpiles.

Both North Korea and Russia person denied the unit deployment and the arms transportation allegations. At a UN Security Council gathering connected Monday, Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, dismissed the South Korean accusations, arsenic good arsenic Western claims astir Iran and China supplying arms to Russia.

He accused the West of “scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese, and Korean bogeymen,” describing the allegations arsenic progressively absurd.

A North Korean diplomat besides dismissed the reports of unit deployment, calling them “groundless, stereotype rumours” aimed astatine tarnishing North Korea’s representation and undermining its morganatic practice with Russia.

Additionally, Kim Yo Jong, the almighty sister of North Korean person Kim Jong Un, labelled the governments of South Korea and Ukraine “lunatics” for making what she termed “reckless remarks against atomic weapons states.”

While the US and NATO person not confirmed the North Korean unit deployment, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, warned that if the reports were accurate, it would people “a unsafe and highly concerning development.” He added that the US is “consulting with our allies and partners” regarding the situation.

(with inputs from AP)