US dismisses Russia’s warning to South Korea about supplying arms to Ukraine

WASHINGTON — 

The United States has dismissed Russia’s informing that it volition instrumentality each measurement indispensable if South Korea provides lethal weapons to Ukraine.

Patrick Ryder, property caput for the Department of Defense, said Tuesday that “it's a small spot of gaslighting there,” erstwhile asked during a property briefing astir Russia informing South Korea against providing weapons to Ukraine.

“Russia evidently invaded Ukraine,” Ryder said. “They could extremity this warfare contiguous by withdrawing their troops from Ukrainian territory and restoring bid and stableness to the region.”

Gaslighting refers to a concern wherever an aggressor tries to manipulate others into questioning their ain judgment.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made akin remarks connected Monday during a property briefing, stressing that Russia is wholly liable for the deployment of North Korean soldiers successful Russia.

“It is Russia and Russia unsocial that is liable for the precise existent information concerns that South Korea and the United States and Japan and immoderate fig of different countries person astir the question of DPRK troops to articulation the combat successful Russia against Ukraine,” Miller said. DPRK is the abbreviated signifier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the authoritative sanction of North Korea.

Russia’s warning

On Sunday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said successful an interrogation with the country’s authorities quality bureau TASS that “Seoul indispensable recognize that the imaginable usage of South Korean weapons to termination Russia citizens volition afloat destruct relations betwixt our countries.”

Rudenko continued, saying, “We volition respond successful each mode that we find necessary.”

In response, the South Korean authorities condemned the deepening subject ties betwixt Moscow and Pyongyang and said it would instrumentality “phased countermeasures" against the 2 countries’ cooperation.

“We volition ticker intimately however Russia and North Korea make their subject cooperation, and we volition proceed to instrumentality a step-by-step attack based connected that development,” said Koo Byung-sam, spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry successful complaint of inter-Korean affairs, leaving unfastened the anticipation of arms enactment for Ukraine.

U.S. experts accidental Russia is anxious to transportation South Korea not to enactment Ukraine.

Bruce Bennett, a elder defence expert astatine the Rand Corporation, told VOA Korean Service connected Tuesday by telephone that Russia is trying to coerce South Korea with saber-rattling.

“Rudenko is claiming that [Russia] is going to springiness technologies to North Korea, but the Russians person been already doing it,” Bennett said. “He could beryllium claiming that there’s going to beryllium a warfare connected the Korean Peninsula, but does Russia person immoderate crushed forces that tin enactment specified a thing? The Russians truly don’t person other subject forces.”

Bruce Bechtol, a erstwhile quality serviceman astatine the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and present a prof astatine Angelo University successful Texas, said Russians are precise wary of South Korean weapons coming into Ukraine, adding that it could assistance reverse Russia’s advancement successful its warfare against Ukraine.

South Korean arms “are connected par with the benignant of arms that the United States makes,” Bechtol told VOA Korean Tuesday connected the phone. “So, the worldly that they’re going to nonstop the Ukrainians, immoderate that whitethorn be, that’s going to assistance the Ukrainians successful their combat against the Russians.”

North Korea’s involvement

South Korea has been mulling supplying weapons straight to Ukraine amid reports that North Korean soldiers are present engaged alongside Russian forces successful battles against Ukrainian troops.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol suggested successful a November 7 property conference that the authorities could supply weapons to Ukraine, depending connected the grade that North Korean troops enactment successful the warfare betwixt Russia and Ukraine.

"If the North Korean subject gains acquisition successful modern warfare, it tin beryllium a fatal occupation for our nationalist security," Yoon said. "We request to alteration the mode we supply [to Ukraine] successful stages depending connected the grade of engagement of the North Korean military.

"We bash not regularisation retired weapons support," helium said, adding that antiaircraft alternatively than violative weapons would beryllium considered first.

Tensions connected the Korean Peninsula person been escalating successful caller years, arsenic North Korea has been ceaselessly ramping up its atomic and rocket capabilities, making provocative threats against the neighboring South.

In the meantime, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met Yoon astatine the statesmanlike bureau successful Seoul connected Wednesday. Although details of the gathering were not disclosed, it is wide believed that the delegation from Ukraine has requested weapons.