South Korea will reconsider a policy that prohibits it from directly supplying weapons to Ukraine, an advisor to the South Korean president said Thursday, June 20, after the signing of a defense agreement between North Korea and Russia on Wednesday.
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“ We plan to reconsider the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine “, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s national security adviser, Chang Ho-jin, declared to the press this Thursday, June 20. Until now, and for a long time, Seoul has applied a policy which prohibits it from selling arms in zones of active conflict, to which it had clung until today despite requests from Washington and kyiv to reconsider it.
“ Serious concerns »
A major arms contract for K2 tanks, K9 howitzers and planes was signed in July 2022, five months after the Russian invasion, but with Poland. Today, South Korea announced – like Japan – its ” serious concerns » regarding the agreement North Korea – Russia which does not exclude a “ military-technical cooperation » between the two countries and provides “ mutual assistance in the event of attack » from one of the signatories, according to Vladimir Putin.
“ Negative impact »
“ Any cooperation that directly or indirectly contributes to strengthening North Korea’s military capabilities constitutes a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. “, continued Councilor Chang Ho-jin. The violation of these resolutions and the clear and affirmed support for Pyongyang, according to him, “ will inevitably have a negative impact on relations between South Korea and Russia “.
Pyongyang had already been accused by Seoul, several weeks before the signing of the agreement, of supplying weapons to the Russia for its war in Ukraine, in exchange for technological support.
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