Russian President Vladimir Putin said this Thursday, June 20, “not to rule out” the possibility of sending weapons to North Korea, while assuring that the supply of weapons by South Korea to Ukraine would be a “very serious error”.
Vladimir Putin had already threatened at the beginning of June to deliver weapons to third countries, in response to the delivery of Western arms to Ukraine and the authorization given to kyiv by the United States and several European countries to strike the territory. Russian with the Western missiles that were delivered to it.
“We reserve the right to supply weapons to other parts of the world, bearing in mind our agreements with North Korea, and I do not rule out this possibility,” Vladimir Putin told the press during from a visit to Vietnam.
A warning for South Korea
He also warned South Korea against any arms supplies to Ukraine, while Seoul announced that it would “reconsider” its policy banning such deliveries, in reaction to the signing of a defense agreement between North Korea and Russia on Wednesday. “Providing lethal weapons to the war zone in Ukraine would be a very serious mistake. I hope this does not happen. If it does, then we will have to make an appropriate decision, which will probably not please the South Korean leaders,” Vladimir Putin said.
The Russian president assured that Seoul had “no need to worry” about this defense agreement between Pyongyang and Moscow because it only applies “in the event of aggression against one of the signatories.” “There is no reason to be afraid of our cooperation in this area,” continued Vladimir Putin. He also assured that Russia had not requested direct military involvement from North Korea in the conflict in Ukraine. “We’re not asking anyone for it and no one has offered it to us,” he said.
The Russian president also criticized NATO’s expansion in Asia, saying that a “block system is being established” on this continent. “NATO is establishing itself as a permanent residence there. This of course constitutes a threat to all countries in the region, including Russia. We are obliged to react and we will do so,” he said. he asserted.