South Korea might ship weapons to Kyiv to counter North’s interference
Fears are growing around the mounting Korean involvement in Ukraine, with Kim Jong Un‘s sister blasting Kyiv and Seoul over their warnings about Pyongyang’s alleged interference in the war.
Kim Yo Jong, 37, accused ‘scum’ South Korea of infringing the sovereignty of her repressive ‘nuclear’ state with drone incursions, and dismissed Kyiv and Seoul as ‘bad dogs’ and ‘lunatics’ over allegations the North is preparing for war in Ukraine.
‘Seoul and Kyiv are exact counterparts in going about bagging and letting loose reckless remarks against nuclear weapons states at random without follow-up capability,’ she said.
The comments came as new footage appeared to show North Korean troops on the ground in eastern Russia, amid intelligence assessments from Seoul and Kyiv that they would soon be deployed in Ukraine.
Seoul stood its ground, suggesting it could consider sending both defensive and offensive weapons to Ukraine, according to a senior presidential official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Footage purportedly shows North Korean troops in Russia ahead of deployment to Ukraine
North Korean troops are said to be training to support Russian forces in the field
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in 2019
Troops march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang
The South Korean statement is apparently meant to pressure Russia not to bring in North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine.
South Korean officials worry that Russia may reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated weapons technologies that can boost the North’s nuclear and missile programs that target South Korea.
In an emergency National Security Council meeting, top South Korean officials condemned North Korea’s alleged dispatch of troops as ‘a grave security threat’ to South Korea and the international community.
They described North Korea as ‘a criminal group’ that forces its youths to serve as Russian mercenaries for an unjustifiable war, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.
The officials agreed to take phased countermeasures, linking the level of their responses to progress in Russian-North Korean military cooperation, according to the statement.
Possible steps include diplomatic, economic and military options, and South Korea could consider sending weapons to Ukraine, a senior South Korean presidential official told reporters on condition of anonymity in a background briefing.
The official warned North Korea could attempt to get high-tech Russian technologies to perfect its nuclear missiles.
The official said Russia’s possible help for North Korea’s efforts to modernise its outdated conventional weapons systems and acquire a space-based surveillance system would pose a serious security threat to South Korea as well.
The South Korean Army’s K2 tanks participating in joint military drill with the Qatari ground forces at the Al Qalayel training center in Qatar, 21 October 2024
The South Korean army’s multiple launch rocket systems fire rockets during South Korea-U.S. joint military drills last year
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a meeting in 2018
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un meet in Pyongyang, June 19, 2024
North Korea practices artillery drills in an undisclosed location in March
North Korea is believed to already have troops training in Russia for deployment
South Korea’s spy agency said last week it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia this month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces.
The U.S. and NATO haven’t confirmed North Korea’s troop deployment, but they warned against the danger of such a development if true.
Kim Yo Jong warned both Seoul and Kyiv of a ‘horrible situation’ with ‘fatal consequences’ should they threaten the North.
She said making ‘reckless remarks… seems to be a common feature of bad dogs bred by the U.S.’, referring to the South and Ukraine.
Ruler Kim’s sister holds key positions in the ruling structure of North Korea.
Moscow and Pyongyang have been sharply boosting their cooperation in the past two years.
In June, they signed a major defense deal requiring both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.
South Korea said at the time it would consider sending arms to Ukraine, a similar statement that it made Tuesday.
Ukrainian soldiers check the scopes of their anti-aircraft systems in Donetsk, October 19
Ukrainian recruits train in Donetsk on October 14
A rescue worker looks for survivors in the aftermath of a Russian attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine
A destroyed building in Myrnohrad amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian rescuers work to extinguish a fire following a missile attack in Lviv on September 4
South Korea’s spy agency said that North Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.
North Korea and Russia have denied the North Korean troop deployment as well as the purported weapons transfer.
At a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the South Korean assertion as well as Western allegations of Iran supplying Russia with missiles and China providing arms components.
He accused the West of ‘circulating scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and Korean bogeymen, each one of which is more absurd than the one before.’
At a separate U.N. committee meeting, a North Korean diplomat said his delegation feels no need to comment on the troop dispatch, calling it ‘groundless, stereotype rumors aimed at smearing the image’ of the North and undermining the legitimate cooperation between two sovereign states.
