South Korea minister asked if they can send weapons to Ukraine

2/11/2024 5:44

        South Korean Foreign Minister
        Cho Tae-yul, asked on Friday whether Seoul could send weapons to
        Ukraine in response to North Korea's aiding Russia, said all
        possible scenarios were under consideration.
        
        Cho, speaking through an interpreter, told a press
        conference in Ottawa that Seoul would be watching the level of
        participation by North Korean troops in Russia and what
        Pyongyang received from Moscow in return.
        
        The United States said on Thursday that it expected North
        Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region to enter the fight
        against Ukraine in the coming days. Washington says there are
        10,000 North Korean troops in Russia.
        
        South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine,
        including mine clearance equipment, but so far has resisted
        Kyiv's requests for weapons.
        
        "All possible scenarios are under consideration," Cho said
        when asked whether Seoul might send arms to Ukraine.
        
        "Specifically, we will be watching the level of the (North
        Korean) forces' participation in the war, and what will be the
        quid pro quo that North Korea will be receiving from Russia. We
        will take all those (factors) into consideration before making
        specific decisions," he said.
        
        The North is likely to be compensated by Moscow with
        military and civilian technology, as it races to launch a spy
        satellite and upgrade its intercontinental ballistic missile
        capabilities, a South Korean presidential official said on
        Wednesday.
        
        U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Cho and
        South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday, said
        the two sides had discussed a range of options for responding to
        the North Korean dispatch of troops but gave no details.