Seoul could send weapons to Ukraine to counter North Korea's troop deployments

Updated on Oct. 22, 2024 11:04 a.m. E.T.

South Korea could send weapons to Ukraine as part of “phased measures” it vowed to take against North Korea and Russia over their deepening military cooperation, a senior presidential official told reporters on Tuesday.

The comment came after South Korea's deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo told a news conference that the South Korean government demanded that Pyongyang immediately withdraw troops it sent to Russia to help in the war with Ukraine.

“If the illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia continues, [we] will not stand by but respond firmly in collaboration with the international community,” Kim said, warning of “phased measures” in response to the level of their military ties.

A senior presidential official told reporters that the measures could include sending weapons for defense and attack, but the official did not elaborate. 

South Korea’s spy agency said last week that the North had decided to send about 12,000 troops to help Russia with its war in Ukraine, and had  already dispatched 1,500 soldiers to Vladivostok for training.

North Korea has denied  report, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Oct. 10 dismissed speculation of North Korean troops going to Ukraine as “fake news.”

South Korea has a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries fighting wars and has maintained that stance with Ukraine, sending only humanitarian aid.

The South’s comment came after a North Korean representative to the United Nations dismissed reports it was sending soldiers to support Russia in the war in Ukraine as “groundless rumors,” adding that its cooperation with Moscow was “legitimate and cooperative.”

“As for the so-called military cooperation with Russia, my delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly and cooperative relations between two sovereign states,” said the North Korean official during a session of the U.N. General Assembly First Committee on disarmament and international security on Monday. 

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name. 

The official’s remarks came in response to the Ukrainian envoy’s comment that the North was planning to soon send “large-scale” regular troops to help Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.

Russia said on Monday it would continue to strengthen ties with North Korea, while declining to confirm South Korea’s report.

The United States said it could not confirm the report, while North Korea’s state-run media outlets had remained silent at time of publication.

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In a separate U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.N., Hwang Joon-kook, called for an immediate halt to the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

“We are well aware that North Korea is a habitual violator of international norms and Security Council resolutions. However, recent actions by Pyongyang have even surprised us,” said Hwang.

He denounced Russia for “taking a gamble” out of desperation by involving a third country in its aggression and said its military cooperation with the North would potentially make Pyongyang “an active belligerent in warfare.”

“Russia and North Korea must immediately stop violating international obligations,” said Hwang. 

“It is hard to believe that a permanent member of the Security Council would take such a gamble and shift the course of the war.” 

North Korea and Russia have moved closer over the past year or more amid widespread suspicion that North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine in return for military and economic assistance. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly submitted a bill to the lower house of parliament on Monday to ratify a treaty to raise its relationship with North Korea to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The change was  agreed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 19 in Pyongyang after summit talks during the Russian president’s state visit.   

The new partnership includes a mutual defense assistance clause that would apply in the case of “aggression” against one of the signatories.

Edited by Mike Firn.

Update recasts headline and first sentence to include that South Korea could send weapons to Ukraine.