Vladimir Putin has warned South Korea that it will make a “big mistake” if it arms Ukraine during its confrontation with Russia.
His comments came after Seoul said it was considering the possibility in response to Russia and North Korea’s new pact to help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.
“Moscow will make decisions that are unlikely to please the current leadership of South Korea if Seoul decides to supply weapons to Kyiv,” – Putin told Western journalists.
The Russian leader was speaking in Vietnam shortly after a lavish visit to Pyongyang, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Earlier, Seoul condemned the deal as a threat to its national security, and National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin said that his country plans to “review the issue of arms support for Ukraine.”
After Putin’s remarks, the South Korean president’s office said it would consider “various options” in supplying weapons to Ukraine, and its position “depends on how Russia approaches this issue.”
Authorities are also expected to summon Russia’s ambassador to South Korea to file a protest, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
Although South Korea has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and military equipment, it has so far refused to provide lethal weapons, as it has an official policy of not arming countries at war.
Some in Ukraine hoped that deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang would force Seoul to reconsider its approach. Earlier, analysts said that Kyiv would use Putin’s visit to Pyongyang to increase pressure.
On June 21, the spokesman of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, spoke about the Russian-North Korean agreement, saying that it should “concern any country that cares about maintaining peace and stability in the state.
At the same time, Japan stated that it is “seriously concerned that Putin does not rule out military technological cooperation with North Korea.” Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said, adding that the deal was “unacceptable.”
