Putin: South Korea would be making a “big mistake” if it supplies military generals to Ukraine

Putin: South Korea would be making a “big mistake” if it supplies military generals to Ukraine

Putin: South Korea would be making a “big mistake” if it supplies military generals to Ukraine

Photo: Putin and Kim Jong-un signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the 19th. \Associated Press

On the 20th, the South Korean government issued a statement strongly condemning the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and North Korea, and announced that it would reconsider the plan to provide weapons to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said before concluding his state visit to Vietnam that day that he would not rule out providing weapons to North Korea, saying that this was a consequence of Western military aid to Ukraine. He warned South Korea that providing lethal weapons to Ukraine would be a “huge mistake” and that if this happened, Russia would make a corresponding decision, which would be “not something South Korean leaders would be happy to see.”

[Ta Kung Pao News]During his state visit to North Korea on the 19th, Putin signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which stipulates that when one party is invaded by another country, the other party must provide assistance. Putin also said that he does not rule out the possibility of developing military and technological cooperation with North Korea. Foreign media said that because the treaty contains a “mutual defense clause”, the outside world is closely watching its possible impact on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea provides indirect military aid to Ukraine via Europe

The United States and South Korea reacted most strongly to the improvement of bilateral relations between Russia and North Korea. On the 20th, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Deul-yeol by phone, condemning the signing of a new treaty between Russia and North Korea as a serious threat to regional peace and stability. The South Korean government issued a statement on the same day saying that any cooperation that directly or indirectly helps North Korea strengthen its military power is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and will be subject to supervision and sanctions from the international community.

Zhang Huzhen, director of the National Security Office of the South Korean Presidential Office, pointed out that Russia’s move will worsen relations between the two countries. In the face of any behavior that threatens national security, the South Korean government will further strengthen the extended deterrence of the US-ROK alliance and the US-Japan-ROK security cooperation system to eliminate the North Korean nuclear threat. In addition, the government will reconsider the plan to provide weapons to Ukraine.

An unnamed official from the South Korean presidential office said on the 21st that South Korea has several options for providing weapons and equipment to Ukraine, and the extent of military assistance to Ukraine will depend on Russia’s future actions on Russia-North Korea relations. Yonhap News Agency revealed that South Korea’s options include providing Ukraine with urgently needed 155mm caliber howitzer shells and air defense systems.

In the more than two years since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the South Korean government has claimed that it will not provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, and only provides non-lethal military aid such as bulletproof vests and gas masks. In fact, South Korea has exported a large amount of arms to Poland and other countries that provide military aid to Ukraine in recent years, indirectly providing military aid to Ukraine in this way.

Last December, South Korea’s Hanwha Group and Poland signed a military sales agreement worth more than US$2.6 billion to export 152 K9 self-propelled howitzers to Poland by 2027. This agreement is only part of another larger agreement, which involves a total amount of US$22 billion, and involves the cumulative export of 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 288 K239 multiple rocket launchers to multiple European countries. This is the highest amount of arms export contract in South Korea’s history.

The Washington Post said at the end of last year that South Korea provided Ukraine with more 155mm caliber artillery shells through the United States and other countries than all European countries combined.

Kremlin: Russia-North Korea cooperation is not aimed at third countries

South Korean media disclosed in April this year that the South Korean government plans to invest nearly 290 million US dollars this year to develop advanced materials and components for defense products in order to enhance the competitiveness of its military industry and promote the goal of making South Korea the world’s fourth largest arms exporter by 2027.

The Hankook Ilbo quoted a senior Blue House official as saying that if the South Korean government really provides weapons to Kiev, the relationship between Russia and South Korea will deteriorate to the extreme. The official believes that the South Korean government intends to use this topic as a lever to put pressure on Russia, rather than immediately start supplying weapons to Ukraine. Park Pyong-hwan, former Minister-Counselor of the South Korean Embassy in Russia, pointed out that South Korea’s remarks on the possible lifting of the ban on arms supply to Ukraine are intended to “make Russia nervous.” If it is really implemented, Seoul will lose its last means of putting pressure on Moscow.

In response to South Korea’s concerns and possible policy shifts, Putin said South Korea has nothing to worry about because Russia will only provide military assistance to North Korea if it is invaded. Kremlin spokesman Peskov pointed out that Russia’s cooperation with other countries is not and has never been directed against third countries.

(Yonhap News Agency/RIA Novosti/Bloomberg)

source: china