South Korea warns it could send weapons to Ukraine after reports of North Korean troops in Russia
South Korea has warned it could consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea allegedly sending troops to Russia.
Last week, South Korea's spy agency said 1,500 North Korean soldiers had been dispatched to fight with Russian forces against Ukraine.
North Korea and Russia have denied the reports. However, in a video shared with ITV News' US partner CNN, North Korean soldiers can be seen receiving uniforms and equipment in a Russian training ground.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described reports of the Kremlin turning to North Korea to provide troops for its "self-destructing war machine" as "an embarrassing and desperate act."
UK Defence Secretary John Healey added that the move is a sign of President Vladimir Putin's "desperation" and could trigger a wider global conflict.
He added that it was "highly likely" that North Korean troops were in Russia.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday: "We are seeing evidence that there are North Korean troops that have gone to Russia."
The US plans to release intelligence on Wednesday showing thousands of North Korean troops moving to Russian training areas by ship.
South Korea's warning comes as officials hope to pressure Russia against bringing in North Korean troops.
Officials in South Korea 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, 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, South Korea's presidential office said in a statement.
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 both defensive and offensive weapons to Ukraine, a senior South Korean presidential official told reporters anonymously.
The official said North Korea could attempt to get high-tech Russian technologies to perfect its nuclear missiles, and that Russia's help to modernise its conventional weapons systems would pose a serious security threat.
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Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, South Korea has joined US-led sanctions against Moscow and shipped humanitarian and financial support to Kyiv.
However, it has avoided directly supplying arms to Ukraine in line with its policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflicts.
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 also said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is sending experts to Brussels soon to brief ambassadors.
“That will now happen early next week, and then we will see whether North Korea is indeed, or not, supporting Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” Rutte said on Tuesday.
He continued: “If that would be the case, if they would be sending troops to Ukraine, that would mark a significant escalation."
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