South Korea considers sending weapons to Ukraine in response to Russia-North Korea deal | DW News

South Korea has condemned a defense pack that North Korea signed with Russia earlier this week the foreign Ministry called it a threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula SE summoned Russia’s ambassador to the foreign Ministry to discuss its concerns while the details of the military pact are still mcky South Korea is worried that it could encourage North Korean aggression SE announced in response that it was considering sending weapons to Ukraine to support its defense against Russia journalist Frank Smith joins me now from s for more on this Frank Vladimir Putin warned SE that supporting Ukraine would be a very big mistake how is SE interpreting that warning well I think Sol is still interpreting that warning one of the Articles of this agreement suggested that each country North Korea and Russia would come to each other’s Aid with all means if they were in a state of war the Korean war ended with an Armistice not a peace treaty so a state of War arguably exists now on the Korean Peninsula recently North Korea over the past couple of months has been reinforcing its defensive positions along the DMZ including Crossing the mdl the military demarcation line inside that heavily mined area according according to South Korean military North Korean troops died in explosions in that area over the past week again reinforcing their positions including anti-tank barriers South Korea fired warning shots just yesterday driving these North Korean soldiers back onto their side uh of the border so the interpretation of this is and the questions that are arising is this military pact going to embolden Kim Jong-un further bares and is this military pact already having an impact on tensions between North and South Korea yes it is uh you know I I mentioned again what’s going on along the border uh there have also been calls here in South Korea over the past couple of years with uh North Korea’s nuclear and missile developments for uh South Korea to obtain its own nuclear weapons and even in the past day uh those calls have come from the US that with an American Senator suggesting that the US should redeploy nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula so there are a number of uh perhaps unintended consequences that are being felt uh among the the capitals in the region including South Korea the US and Japan as well as even China that might look upon the agreement between North Korea and Russia with some dis disdain but would certainly be increasingly worried with now more talks of uh nuclear weapons for South Korea bares journalist Frank Smith in thanks very much for that for one this I’m now joined by Dr John neelson Wright he’s the head of the Japan and Korea program at the Center for geopolitics at Cambridge University John Vladimir Putin warns soul that supporting Ukraine would be a quote very big mistake how is soul interpreting this warning well I think what the Russian leader is trying to say is that if the the South Koreans were minded to provide for the first time lethal support to Ukraine I.E support in the forms of arms Munitions to enhance Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression that would be seen as a red line from the Russian perspective and in all of this the real critical question is what does the enhanced security cooperation between Moscow and pongyang really amount to uh you’ll recall that North Korea has been seeking to develop its satellite technology capabilities an abortive satellite launched just a few weeks ago the the sense is that in return for North Korea’s provision of Munitions and uh Military Support to Russia in fighting the war in Ukraine the Russians might be minded to provide that critical technology um and of course the language of this new security this comprehensive strategic agreement between the two countries has alarmed South Korea because they fear that it amounts to something even T amount to a formal bilateral Alliance that’s certainly what the North Koreans are saying the Russians have been a little bit more circumspect but if you look at the language of the new agreement uh it it it creates a commitment on both sides to come to the assistance of their new partner um with immediate dispatch very very quickly in the event of an attack on either one of the signatories well there it’s certainly increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula but uh if we sort of zoom out a bit how does this Russian North Korean deal affect geopolitical strategies with players like NATO and uh and China well I mean I think from the point of view of the United States of course South Korea’s most important Ally we’ve already seen efforts to bolster bilateral cooperation and now more recently trilateral cooperation between the US Japan and South Korea joint uh defense uh Maneuvers efforts to strengthen deterrence against threat from North Korea um I think we’re somewhere away from any suggestion that there would be active enhanced cooperation with NATO Partners although that’s something that’s been happening already of course um close coordination between South Korea uh and NATO we’ve had of course visits by the South Korean president on the sidelines of the NATO Summit um but then again when it when when it comes to the question of uh reducing tensions on the peninsula China of course is a critical potential partner um China has no interest in seeing tensions escalate it worries of course that the very existence of a North Korean threat to South Korea will bolster us cooperation with South Korea and Japan and from China’s perspective given its own concerns and its own ambition over Taiwan in the South China seas and in the East China Sea um it wants to to reduce the risk that there will be further escalation so China in a way is perhaps the most important player in all of this and it will be looking potentially to try and restrain pongyang whether it can or not in this context because of course the North Koreans have been looking to reach out to Russia precisely to enhance their own security preparations is an open question so do you get the feeling it’s all s uh pretty serious do you get the feeling that this partnership uh is destabilizing the whole Asia Pacific um we’re not there yet but it certainly doesn’t help in terms of um ensuring that tensions are kept at a minimum and of course we’ve seen recently um with North Korea developing apparently reinforcing its own defensive facilities at the DMZ we’ve seen uh North Korean troops crossed briefly over into um into the DMZ which of course has led to a pretty Swift response from the south Koreans that doesn’t seem to be a deliberate provocation it reflects this effort by the North Koreans to bolster their own security uh on the land border there is always the risk that conflict might escalate through miscalculation and misperception not just on land but in the west sea the so-called Northern limit line that marks the maritime boundary between the two careers uh has long been problems there in that area and I think it’s in light of these new um agreements and the more bicos language coming out of both Moscow and pongyang that so and its allies are increasingly concerned Dr John neelson right the associate professor for East Asian studies at Cambridge University thank you very much pleasure

South Korea has condemned a defense pact that North Korea signed with Russia earlier this week. The foreign ministry called it a threat to “peace and stability on the Korean peninsula”. Seoul summoned Russia’s ambassador to the foreign ministry to discuss its concerns. While the details of the military pact are still unclear, South Korea is worried that it could encourage North Korean aggression. Seoul announced in response that it was considering sending weapons to Ukraine to support its defense against Russia.

Chapters:
00:00 South Korea considers sending weapons to Ukraine
00:30 Frank Smith, Journalist in Seoul
03:22 John Nilsson-Wright, University of Cambridge

#Russia #Southkorea #asiapacific
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42 comments

  1. Remind me again how many red lines has Russia drawn up since 2022 every single one has been ignored. What did Russia do ? Absolutely nothing!!!

  4. South Korea was already shipping weapons to Ukraine on the orders of their masters in Washington, this is not new. They have been shipping weapons to Ukraine for over a year now

  5. It's ok SK to be the lapdog of the uncle Snake,but no NK..
    We know where that hypocrisy comes from,

  7. The defense chief of South Korea stated they have hundreds of their SLBMs are now point at Moscow. I don't think South Korea is scared of wiping of Russia.

  9. they have already sent weapons to ukraine. they gave the shells for our restocking. that is the same thing as giving it to ukraine.

  10. It's too late now. Russia has said that it will fight symmetrically, that is, it will arm its allies as the USA arms its own.
    South Korea simply has no luck 🙁

  17. We're living in America that is Coast the territory of Hawaii president and post the territory of the US Virgin Islands I'm assuming it's the British Virgin Islands at this point and he's trying to start another fight

  19. Now food and energy!! Russia has more resouces than the whole world combined! Then when they have Ukraine they will control 33% of the food of the world! Think!! Food, energy and war hardened men. Russia puts men in war not women! Russia put more nuclear subs into service! Russia rather manufacturer missiles and Glide bombs rather than manufacture bullets and Howitzer ammunition! That is why China stopped selling Ukraine weapons and ammo! Russians sub destroys everything and that's including fleets of ships. Russia's sub is present day and we are glorified world war 2 with everything we have!

  20. This is Russia backing up China! China doesn’t want hundreds of thousands of white US soldiers in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan

  21. A win-win for South Korea. South Korean systems and weapons being battle-tested in Ukraine would make their military industry products more appealing to European countries aside from Poland.

  24. they have the full right to send their best weapons to ukraine if putler promised to arm north korea with weapons

  32. Not sending Ukraine weapons is a message that will have results of North Korea seeing its cash cow weapons industry destroyed making Russia weak, The US should stop sending weapons to Ukraine and use it to arm Japan and South Korea. Ukraine gets enough weapons from 14 other countries that US and South Korean weapons aren't needed.

  34. is crazy the propagandistic titles of most of DW videos.. the only ones that actually destabilize the region is the us with their military bases and military support to its pawns; south korea, taiwan and sadly japan.

  35. Russia-South Korea Trade Russia exported $12.7B to South Korea… Let's hope South Korea does something about this…
    A russia threat is a threat.
    He's going where he can to effect his own trade partners, everything he does COSTS russia money. He continues to isolated russia further. North Korea trade willl not make up for this loss..
    He's making a pretty bjg bet that that the loss of all of the western trade will be made up with his so called friendly nations.

  38. North Korea, China, Russia who try to defy current global order against western world they all got Nuclear weapons.
    South Korea, one crucial allies of USA is at the very frontline of this new cold war doesn’t have any of it.
    Can US alone handle all those countries? NO!
    Is it US who’s responsible for Seoul’s Security? NO!
    Now it’s really a time that US should let South Korea enters Nuclear Armament.

  41. If the US military based in S Korea get involved in war in Taiwan, China will likely attack S Korean bases but if S Korea has its own nuclear weapons with nuclear submarines, they will not attack without worry about nuclear retaliation by S Korea. Seoul can't tell Washington not to use US military based in S Korea thus only guarantee that S Korea will not be attacked is having its own nuclear weapons for counter attack.

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