After Putin’s pact with Kim Jong Un that could see his troops fighting in Ukraine… will furious South Korean leaders send arms to Kyiv?
Furious political leaders in South Korea have threatened to send weapons to Ukraine in response to Vladimir Putin’s latest maneuvers.
They struck after the Russian leader signed a defense pact with North Korean despot Kim Jong Un during a two-day visit to the pariah state.
Military analysts fear the move is the first step toward Pyongyang troops pouring into Ukraine to intensify Putin’s bloody campaign.
The text of the deal states that each country would provide immediate military assistance if the other was invaded.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said: “It is absurd that two sides with a history of launching invasion wars – the Korean War and the Ukraine War – are now promising mutual military cooperation on the basis of a pre-emptive strike by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. international community, that will never happen.’
Furious political leaders in South Korea have threatened to send weapons to Ukraine in response to Vladimir Putin’s latest maneuvers
Russian President Vladimir Putin drives North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an Aurus limousine in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024
Yoon’s national security adviser, Chang Ho-jin, said Seoul “intended to reconsider the issue of providing arms support to Ukraine.”
He added: “Any cooperation that directly or indirectly contributes to strengthening North Korea’s military capabilities is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“Russia’s own violation of the resolution and support for North Korea will inevitably have a negative impact on the relationship between South Korea and Russia.”
South Korea, which aims to become one of the world’s largest arms exporters, has signed huge deals with European countries.
But the country has long had a policy banning weapons sales in active conflict zones, which it has stuck to until now despite calls from Washington and Kiev to reconsider. It came as Putin was treated to a new round of red carpet treatment in communist-led Vietnam yesterday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands after their statements following the talks in Kiev on July 15, 2023
Putin and Kim Jong Un assess a guard of honor during the official welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19
Soldiers formed a guard of honor at Hanoi airport as the presidential plane arrived. Putin was greeted by the country’s deputy prime minister before being led to a limousine.
The US, one of the country’s most important trading partners, accused Vietnam of normalizing Russia’s “blatant violations of international law.”
Last year, US President Joe Biden made a state visit to Vietnam and received a similar welcome. Critics have labeled the Hanoi regime’s strategy to maintain relations with all parties as “bamboo diplomacy” – a reference to having strong roots but flexible branches.
Hanoi’s diplomatic approach dates back to the Cold War, when the country decided to be a friend of all countries. Nguyen Khac Giant of the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute – a Singapore-based research center – said: “Vietnam has played this game quite well. It has been actively neutral [in US-Russia disputes]. Hanoi knows that it must balance several powers to benefit.”