South Korea will study “ with more flexibility » the possibility of sending weapons to Ukraine. The words of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol echo repeated announcements from Seoul, kyiv and Washington on the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. The latter are reportedly preparing to fight on the front in Ukraine in the alongside Russian troops. Cooperation which takes place within the framework of the mutual defense pact between Pyongyang and Moscow, ratified by the Russian assembly this Thursday, October 24.
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A priori, the options are limited for kyiv’s allies to respond to an upcoming arrival of North Korean troops in Ukraine. Seoul raises the possibility of directly delivering weapons. A decision which involves modifying South Korean law which prohibits the country from supplying weapons to a country at war. To change the legislation, the very unpopular president Yoon Suk-yeol must theoretically convince the assembly, where it is largely in the minority.
But the South Korea can continue to supply weapons to Ukraine’s partners, such as Poland, Romania or the United States, thus offering indirect support to kyiv. On the other hand, Seoul can also help Ukraine in its image war.
In a video released yesterday by a Ukrainian government project titled “I want to live “, a voice promises in Korean ” three meals a day and a comfortable welcome » to North Koreans who would like to desert. Seoul plans to send intelligence officers to cooperate with their Ukrainian counterparts.
For the rest, on the side of the United Nations Security Council, everything seems locked. There North Korea is already very heavily sanctioned and any new resolution will be blocked by a Russian and perhaps Chinese veto.
Also readNorth Korean soldiers on the Russian front: desertions reported by Ukrainian intelligence