대통령실, 우크라 무기 지원 방안은 "러시아측이 어떻게 응하는지에 따라 검토해 나갈것"
Good evening. Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min.
The presidential office here has signaled a potential shift in its policy regarding weapons provision for Ukraine in response to the recent North Korea-Russia military assistance agreement.
Our Correspondent Oh Soo-young starts us off.
South Korea's measures to potentially send weapons support to Ukraine will depend on Russia's attitude.
That's according to President Yoon Suk Yeol's office Friday, a day after Seoul announced it will reconsider its policy of sending non-lethal aid to Kyiv, as North Korea and Russia signed a deal on military and economic cooperation.
Yoon's office said a variety of measures could be considered to support Ukraine with weapons, with specific measures to be reviewed depending on how the Kremlin responds to Seoul's position on recent developments.
National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin on Thursday delivered the South Korean government's stance after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed they would provide one another with "military and other assistance", in the event of aggression, with “all means at disposal without delay."
Condemning the pact, Chang said he sees any form of cooperation that provides direct or indirect support towards building up North Korea's military as a violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
"Especially as a permanent member of the UN Security Council that led sanctions against North Korea, Russia’s violation of its resolutions by supporting North Korea threatens our security and will inevitably harm Seoul-Moscow relations."
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, South Korea has maintained a policy of providing only humanitarian aid and non-lethal military supplies to Ukraine.
Chang said the government will now reconsider that policy.
Seoul also plans to strengthen its sanctions regime, targeting 243 new subjects, including four Russian ships, five organizations, and eight North Korean individuals involved in weapons and oil exchanges between the two sides.
Chang said the measures were decided after a review of Pyongyang and Moscow's comprehensive strategic partnership pact released on Thursday morning, but noted all specific details had not yet been fully grasped.
While the North Korean leader declared the treaty raises their partnership to an alliance, the Russian President's more subdued remarks suggest otherwise.
The treaty's controversial Article Four on mutual assistance refers to their respective domestic laws, and Article 51 of the UN Charter that recognizes a state’s right to self-defense.
This suggests the current pact may not trigger an immediate allied intervention as a mutual defense treaty would, according to a senior official.
"In any case, Seoul says it will firmly respond to any actions threatening its security and further reinforce the South Korea-U.S. alliance and their trilateral cooperation with Japan to neutralise North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats."
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department on Thursday said it welcomes "any support to Ukraine" in fighting Russia's aggression, but the question of supplying weapons is each country's decision to make.
Washington also expressed deep concern over Putin's threat to supply Pyongyang with weapons, as a response to support for Kyiv, warning such a move would "destabilize" the Korean Peninsula.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
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2024-06-21, 18:00 (KST)
20 июн 2024
