14:44 24.10.2024

South Korea may consider arms supplies to Ukraine – president

2 min read
South Korea may consider arms supplies to Ukraine – president

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that the republic may consider arms supplies to Ukraine depending on the level of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, promising not to "sit idle" in response to Pyongyang's sending of troops to Russia.

As reported by the Yonhap News Agency of the Republic of Korea, the president made these statements after a summit with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Seoul, during which both leaders strongly condemned North Korea's sending of troops to Russia and agreed to strengthen their joint response to growing security threats.

"If North Korea dispatches special forces to the Ukraine war, we will provide support to Ukraine step by step and consider taking necessary measures for the security of the Korean Peninsula," Yoon said in a joint press conference.

"We have adhered to a principle of not directly supplying lethal weapons, but we can review this more flexibly depending on North Korean military activities," he added. During the summit, Yoon and Duda denounced North Korea's troop dispatch as "a direct violation of the U.N. Charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions," and is "a provocation" that threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe.

"The Republic of Korea will never sit idle over this and take necessary measures step by step in coordination with the international community depending on the development of N. Korea-Russia military cooperation," Yoon said.

Yoon also pledged to support South Korea's efforts to sign a supplemental deal with Poland to supply K2 tanks by the end of the year, valued at about $7 billion.

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