On Thursday, South Korea condemned an agreement reached by Russia and North Korea that pledged mutual defense assistance in the event of war and said it would reconsider its policy of limiting its support for Ukraine to non-lethal supplies. The comments by a senior presidential official came hours after North Korea’s state media released the details of the agreement reached between its leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit on Wednesday in Pyongyang.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the deal requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of war. The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement condemning the agreement, calling it a threat to the South’s security and the administration of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and warning that it would have negative consequences for Seoul’s relations with Moscow.
The presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing, according to office rules, said Seoul, in response, will reconsider the issue of providing arms to Ukraine to help the country fight off Russia’s invasion. South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military backed by the United States, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow.
But it has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict. Both Kim and Putin described their deal as a major upgrade of bilateral relations, covering security, trade, investment, cultural, and humanitarian ties. Outside observers said it could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.
KCNA said Article 4 of the agreement states that if one of the countries gets invaded and is pushed into a state of war, the other must deploy all means at its disposal without delay” to provide “military and other assistance.” But it also says that such actions must be in accordance with the laws of both countries and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes a U.N. member state’s right to self-defense.” It’s absurd that two parties with a history of launching wars of invasion would engage in such actions. The Korean War and the war in Ukraine are now vowing mutual military cooperation.