Vladimir Putin has warned South Korea that it would make “a big mistake” if it armed Ukraine in its war against Russia.
His comments come after Seoul said it was considering such a possibility, in response to the new pact between Russia and North Korea help each other in case of ‘aggression’ against either country.
Moscow “will make decisions that are unlikely to please South Korea’s current leadership” if Seoul decides to supply weapons to Kiev, Putin told reporters on Thursday.
The Russian leader spoke in Vietnam, shortly after an extended visit to Pyongyang, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Putin also warned that Moscow is prepared to arm Pyongyang if the US and its allies continue to supply Ukraine with weapons.
“Those who supply these weapons believe they are not at war with us. I said, also in Pyongyang, that we then reserve the right to supply weapons to other parts of the world,” Putin said.
Seoul had previously condemned the Russian-North Korean deal as a threat to its national security, and national security adviser Chang Ho-jin had said his country planned to “reconsider the issue of arms support to Ukraine.”
Following Putin’s comments, South Korea’s presidential office said Friday that it would consider “various options” in supplying weapons to Ukraine and that its position “will depend on how Russia approaches this issue.”
It also called on Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to protest the pact and demanded that Moscow “immediately cease” military cooperation with Pyongyang.
While South Korea has provided humanitarian aid and military equipment to Ukraine, it has so far refused to supply lethal weapons because it has an official policy not to arm countries at war.
Some in Ukraine hoped that deepening military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang would prompt Seoul to reconsider its approach. Analysts had previously said Kiev would use Putin’s visit to Pyongyang to increase pressure.
During the visit, Kim also pledged “full support” for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is more and more evidence for this Russia has already deployed North Korean missiles in Ukraine.
Early on Friday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby weighed in on the Russian-North Korean deal, saying it “should be of interest to any country concerned with maintaining peace and stability” in the region.
He added that the deal was “no surprise” and said the US had been warning for months about the two countries’ “burgeoning defense relationship”.
Tokyo said it was “deeply concerned that President Putin has not ruled out military technological cooperation with North Korea,” Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said, adding that the deal was “unacceptable.”
Analysts have said the treaty could have significant implications for both the world and the region. In addition to the possibility of North Korea openly arming Russia, it could also be possible that Russia intervenes in a new conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
The two Koreas are still technically at war and maintain a heavily guarded border, where tensions have worsened in recent weeks.
In a separate incident on Thursday, North Korean troops “briefly crossed” the border and withdrew after the South fired warning shots, Seoul authorities said Friday.
This is the third such incident in less than three weeks. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff had said that the two previous cases – on June 9 and June 18 – seemed unintentional.
Additional reporting by Jean Mackenzie.
