South Korea has not ruled out directly delivering weapons to Ukraine, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced on Thursday, November 7, referring to a possible adjustment of Seoul’s policy in this area.
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The South Korean government, a major arms exporter, had already indicated that it was studying the possibility of sending weapons directly to kyiv, in response to the deployment of soldiers by Pyongygang to support Moscow in its war against ‘Ukraine. It has opposed it until now because of a long-standing national policy that prevents it from supplying weapons to countries engaged in active conflicts.
Adjustment
But, ” now, depending on the level of North Korean involvement, we will gradually adjust our support strategy in several stages “, declared the president South KoreanYoon Suk-yeol, during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday, November 7. “ This means that we do not exclude the possibility of supplying weapons “, he added, specifying, without saying more, that “ if we engage in arms support, we consider defensive weapons as a priority “.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed in the Russian region of Kursk, which bordersUkraineto support the Kremlin forces. During this same conference, Mr. Yoon claimed to have agreed, during a telephone exchange with the American president-elect, Donald Trumpof a meeting which will take place “ in the near future “. “ I think we will have the opportunity to meet during this year “, he even clarified.
Hard blow for Ukraine
During this telephone exchange, the two men discussed several topics related to the North Koreasuch as “ the sending of more than 7,000 garbage balloons, the jamming of GPS » and North Korean missile fire, noted Mr. Yoon. On Wednesday, November 6, the upper house of the Russian Parliament ratified a mutual defense treaty with North Korea, concluded during a rare visit by Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in June, which provides in particular “ immediate military aid » reciprocal in the event of an attack against one of the two countries.
Participation of North Korean soldiers in the fighting, including Westerners believe that it is imminent, would be a new hard blow for the Ukrainian troops, lacking men and weapons, and who are retreating on many sections of the front.
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