June 21, 2024
South Korean army’s K55A1 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers during a military parade in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. South Korea held its first military parade in a decade in Seoul that features thousands of troops and its latest military hardware to celebrate Armed Forces Day, just as it bolsters security ties with the US and Japan. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho, Getty Images
SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned it would be a “very big mistake” if South Korea provides lethal weapons to Ukraine after Seoul suggested such a possibility in response to Russia’s commitment to military cooperation with North Korea.
The South Korean government said Thursday it will reconsider its stance on its arms supply to Ukraine after North Korea and Russia signed a treaty that involves military assistance without delay if one of them is attacked.
“As for the supply of lethal weapons to the combat zone in Ukraine, it would be a very big mistake. I hope it will not happen. If it does, then we too will then make the respective decisions, which South Korea’s current leadership is unlikely to be pleased with,” Putin told a press conference during his visit to Vietnam, according to Russia’s news agency Sputnik.
South Korea’s assistance to Ukraine has included military supplies, such as first-aid kits, medicine, portable mine detectors and protective suits, but the country has maintained a policy of not providing lethal aid.
Putin and the North’s leader have agreed to offer military assistance “without delay” if either is attacked under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed after this week’s summit in Pyongyang.
Article 4 of the 23-point treaty could be seen as warranting automatic military intervention in the event of an attack on either country. That would amount to the restoration of a Cold War-era alliance for the first time in 28 years since a mutual defense treaty was scrapped in 1996.
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240621001300315
Everybody together now, one, two, three … YAWN.
I’m sure South Korea will NOT be shivering with fear like a Scholz or Biden. I hope very much they will manage to overcome their law that prohibits arms sales to war zones and send military supplies to Ukraine. Maybe they have started to realize that a Ukrainian victory is also in their interests, which it is.
SK has an OBLIGATION to help Ukraine in any way it can. Why should it enjoy the protection of 35,000 US troops on its land and give nothing in return?
American and British troops died in order for SK citizens to live their peaceful and prosperous lives. Now a key ally of both is facing an existential threat from genocidal nazis, they can and MUST step up.
The same can be said of Israel, which does nothing to help Ukraine and is still too friendly with the country most responsible for its decades long miseries.
I hope that SK will see the dangers lurking from the closer ties of the two terrorists, who are also the cause for much pain in its past. China, too, is on board of SK’s enemies.
SK cannot afford to ignore all of this anymore. Sometimes, you can avert the worst case scenario through a long-range effort, like this situation presents. Defeating mafia land in Ukraine would do great things for SK’s security.