Ukraine war
South Korea no longer excludes direct arms sales to Ukraine
South Korea is considering more support for Ukraine because of North Korea’s suspected involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and support for the Kremlin.
In view of the alleged sending of North Korean soldiers to Russia, the major arms exporter South Korea is no longer ruling out direct arms deliveries to Ukraine, according to President Yoon Suk Yeol. “Depending on the level of North Korean involvement, we will now gradually adjust our support strategy,” Suk Yeol said at a news conference in Seoul on Thursday. “This means that we do not rule out the possibility of arms deliveries.”
North Korea is said to have provided Russia with more than 10,000 soldiers
North Korea has become one of the main supporters of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The West has long accused the internationally isolated country of supplying Moscow with ammunition for use in Ukraine. Russia’s upper house ratified a military assistance pact with North Korea on Wednesday.
According to the US government and Ukraine, the internationally isolated North Korea also sent more than 10,000 of its soldiers to the Russian border region of Kursk in recent weeks to support the Russian army in the fight against the Ukrainian army.
South Korea has already spoken to Trump about cooperation
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has already spoken to Trump in a telephone conversation about continuing close relations in the areas of security and economics, said Yoon’s deputy national security advisor Kim Tae Hyo.
Both expressed concern about North Korea’s troop deployment to support Russia in the war against Ukraine and Pyongyang’s ongoing military provocations, including ballistic missile tests. “They shared the view that they need to discuss these issues in person and agreed to meet as soon as possible once a date and location can be determined.”
Trump also expressed interest in South Korea’s successes in shipbuilding and ship maintenance. Trump is looking forward to “discussing more about how South Korea can help the American shipbuilding industry,” said Kim. Yoon thanked Trump in the phone call for laying the foundation for trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the USA in his first term in office, it said.
Reuters · AP
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
