South Korea signals potential arms support for Ukraine amid North Korean troop deployment

On October 24, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea indicated that the nation might consider supplying arms to Ukraine, contingent on the level of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

This statement came as Yoon vowed that South Korea would not "sit idle" in the face of North Korea's recent troop dispatch to Russia, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The remarks were made following a summit in Seoul with Polish President Andrzej Duda, where both leaders expressed strong condemnation of North Korea's actions and pledged to bolster their joint responses to escalating security threats.

Reports from South Korea's intelligence agency and the White House confirmed that approximately 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to eastern Russia for training, with the possibility of further deployments linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"If North Korea sends special forces to the Ukraine war, we will support Ukraine gradually and consider necessary measures for the security of the Korean Peninsula," President Yoon stated during a joint press conference.

He noted that while South Korea has traditionally refrained from directly supplying lethal weapons, the country could adopt a more flexible approach based on developments in North Korean military activities.

Furhtermore, during the summit, both Yoon and Duda denounced North Korea's troop dispatch as "a direct violation of the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions," describing it as a "provocation" that threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and into Europe. 

Yoon emphasised, "The Republic of Korea will never sit idle over this and will take necessary measures step by step in coordination with the international community, depending on the evolution of North Korea-Russia military cooperation."

By Aghakazim Guliyev