Russian strongman Vladimir Putin said South Korea’s decision to offer arms aid to Ukraine would be a “very big mistake,” threatening “respective decisions” that would anger Seoul in remarks Thursday in response to South Korea’s announcement. that he would consider arming Ukraine.
South Korean officials announced the decision to reconsider their current stance of providing only humanitarian aid and reconstructive assistance following Putin’s visit to North Korea, where he signed a mutual defense treaty obligating Russia to defend Pyongyang in the event of an attack. Putin made a surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday in which communist dictator Kim Jong-un welcomed him with lavish festivities and presented him with two Pungsan hunting dogs.
North Korea had once maintained a similar mutual defense treaty with the fallen Soviet Union, but Russia had not taken steps to commit to military intervention in defense of the rogue communist state until this week.
North Korea and South Korea have been formally in a state of war for 74 years. The Korean War – in which China and the United States are also warring parties – began in 1950 and its active hostilities ceased with an armistice agreement in 1953, but neither side surrendered or signed a peace treaty. As a result, Russia’s commitment to the military defense of North Korea could potentially make it a party to the Korean War, alarming Seoul.
Conversely, North Korea’s engagement with Russia could make it a player in the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the Ukrainian military has attempted in recent months to expand its attacks into Russian territory.
Putin confirmed while in Pyongyang this week that the new agreement with Pyongyang “provides for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty.”
The South Korean government summoned Russia’s ambassador in Seoul to protest the treaty and said it had “grave concerns” that Russia’s support for communist North Korea could exacerbate already rising tensions between the two Koreas.
“The government expresses serious concern and condemns the signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between North Korea and Russia, which aims to strengthen mutual military and economic cooperation,” North Korea’s national security adviser told reporters Thursday. South, Chang Ho-jin. In response to Russia’s actions, Chang said, South Korea would “reconsider the issue of arms support for Ukraine.”
“Specific measures will be revealed later and it will be interesting to see how Russia responds, rather than revealing our plans in advance,” Chang added.
South Korea’s Yonhap news service reported that Seoul also implemented several new sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine this week.
Putin’s comments in Vietnam were a response to Chang’s announcement.
“As for the supply of lethal weapons to the combat zone in Ukraine, it would be a very big mistake,” Putin told reporters during his brief stay in Hanoi, according to Russian media. “I hope it doesn’t happen. If so, then we will also make the respective decisions, which will probably not please the current leaders of South Korea.”
“We reserve our right to supply weapons to other regions of the world,” Putin said, which some media outlets interpreted as a threat to arm North Korea.
South Korean President Yoon, a hardline conservative, has openly supported Ukraine in the ongoing conflict. Yoon made a surprise visit to kyiv in July 2023 in which he met with President Volodymr Zelensky and offered Korean expertise in infrastructure, first aid equipment and other non-lethal aid. Yoon also announced $150 million in humanitarian aid.
“We need a new large-scale rehabilitation industry. “I invited the Republic of Korea to show leadership in creating rehabilitation centers in Ukraine,” Zelensky said at the time.
Seoul appeared to backtrack on its threat to arm Ukraine, at least for now, in comments to reporters on Friday. South Korean media outlet Yonhap quoted an unnamed Yoon official as saying Seoul was simply looking at “various options.”
“There are several options for providing weapons, and our position on the recent developments between Russia and North Korea depends on how Russia approaches the situation in the future,” the unnamed official said.
Putin’s surprise visit to Pyongyang, which followed a personal invitation from dictator Kim Jong-un in September, followed a particularly tense month in inter-Korean relations. Communist North Korea began flying balloons carrying trash and feces to the South in May, reportedly in response to a South Korean Supreme Court decision that overturned a ban on South Koreans flying balloons carrying political messages and humanitarian aid. northward. South Korean officials promised an “unbearable” response to the North before installing a loudspeaker at the border and playing popular songs by South Korean superstar band BTS in the North in early June. Although the loudspeaker has only sounded once, Seoul officials have threatened to broadcast content not approved by the North’s communists to the country again.
Tension at the border has also worsened following multiple incidents in which North Korean soldiers have illegally crossed into the south. South Korean military officials called the first such incident a “simple mistake,” but two other similar incidents have since occurred. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff called all three incidents accidental.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
