The National Security Adviser of South Koreaʼs Presidentʼs Office, Jang Ho-Ji, said at a briefing that Seoul will not have any obstacles in helping Ukraine with lethal weapons if Russia supplies North Korea with high-precision weapons.
Yonhap writes about it.
"I would like to emphasize that everything depends on what Russia will do. Will there be a "red line" for us if Russia transfers high-precision weapons to North Korea? Chan said, stressing that Russia should "think carefully" about cooperation with North Korea and make efforts to improve relations with South Korea.
Recently, President Yoon Seok-yeol said that South Korea will review the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. The leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, said that this would be a "very big mistake". Yolʼs statement came after Putinʼs visit to North Korea, where he signed a long-term partnership agreement with Kim Jong-un. Presumably, we are talking about a strategic agreement, in particular regarding military support.
- Currently, Seoul does not officially provide military aid to Ukraine. At the same time, the country provides humanitarian and financial assistance. Eun Seok Yeol spoke about the fact that Korea can transfer lethal weapons to Ukraine as early as April 2023. But he named several conditions: "a large-scale attack on civilians, a massacre or a serious violation of the laws of war." South Korea has a rich fleet of tanks, armored vehicles and artillery of its own production, as well as large reserves of ammunition.
- Last year in May, the WSJ newspaper wrote that South Korea is transferring hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to the USA, which they are sending to Ukraine.