South Korea and Ukraine will enhance their security cooperation in response to North Korea’s troop deployment to bolster Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.
The announcement followed a November 2024 meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov after the countries expressed alarm about Pyongyang sending thousands of soldiers to western Russia.
Yoon “expressed hope that South Korea and Ukraine would work together to devise effective measures to address security threats posed by North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia,” his office stated.
“Both sides agreed to continue sharing information on North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia and the transfer of weapons and technology between Russia and North Korea,” according to the statement.
The meeting came after South Korea signaled it could reverse a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to countries involved in conflicts, though the statement did not mention arms supplies.
North Korea since October 2024 has sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia and some have engaged in frontline combat, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and United States officials. Up to 100,000 North Korean troops eventually could be deployed, Bloomberg News reported. North Korea also has shipped artillery systems, missiles and other weapons to replenish Russia’s exhausted inventory, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October 2024 said his country was preparing to submit a list of needed military support, including artillery and air defense systems.
Yoon said South Korea’s assistance to Ukraine will depend on “the level of North Korean involvement” in the conflict. If South Korea were to supply arms, Yoon said, the initial batch would be defensive weapons.
