South Korea is studying the possibility of supplying Kyiv with various types of weapons, including 155-mm artillery shells and air defense systems.
Russia and the DPRK signed a strategic partnership agreement, which provides for the provision of mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the participants. South Korea immediately responded to such agreements. Seoul will help Ukraine in return.
Largest arms manufacturer
South Korea is one of the largest arms manufacturers in the world. Until now, it has refrained from supplying lethal military products to Ukraine.
On Thursday, June 20, South Korean National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin said that the country’s position may change due to the Cooperation, Defense and Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and the DPRK. Among other things, this agreement provides for military assistance in the event of an attack on one of the countries.
The government in Seoul “expresses serious concern and condemns the signing of the agreement,” the South Korean adviser insisted.
On Friday, Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev was summoned to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, where he was told that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia violates UN Security Council resolutions and has a negative impact on the regional situation and relations. of Russian-Korean.
Vladimir Putin said the day before that Seoul’s decision to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine “will be a huge mistake” and threatened retaliatory measures, which, according to him, are unlikely to please the current South Korean leadership.
Western press reaction
The New York Times calls the agreement a renewal of Cold War-era security guarantees that go back to the now-defunct 1961 mutual defense treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow.
This time, however, the agreement is “based on mutual transactional needs – artillery for Russia and advanced military technology” for North Korea, the publication writes, citing Victor Cha, who worked on the issues in North Korea during the George W. Bush administration and now. working at the Center for Strategic and Strategic Affairs.
The New York Times report said that Moscow’s promised technology assistance was not specified in the agreement, but if it included technologies that Kim Jong Un was looking to improve, it would help North Korea develop a nuclear warhead.
Bloomberg also recalled that North Korea needs money, goods and technology to implement its plans to build a nuclear submarine and deploy spy satellites.
As a result of the signed agreement, Kim Jong-un received “an ally with a nuclear arsenal to support him.” “It also means he can continue his nuclear ambitions, while Russia uses its veto power in the UN Security Council to block any new sanctions,” the publication emphasizes.
The Financial Times recalls that in March Russia already vetoed the vote in the UN Security Council on a draft resolution providing for the extension of the mandate of the group of experts of the committee on sanctions against the DPRK.
North Korean troops in Ukraine?
Defense Express military expert Ivan Kirichevsky said there is a possibility of sending North Korean troops to the front in Ukraine.
“I do not exclude the possibility that North Korea may send its troops to the front in Ukraine. In the summer of 2022, the talk about a Korean expeditionary force on the Russian side disappeared. However, then the story came out that North Korean labor is being used by the occupiers in Mariupol for military construction. This means that human trafficking is taking place between the two dictators and the expeditionary force. … However … it can be seen we will see the results of the meeting between Putin and Kim Jong-un and what they agreed on closer to the fall,” said Kirichevsky.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.