South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine and has not supplied weapons to Kiev despite pressure from the West, citing a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to countries in an armed conflict.

Seoul has supported arms supplies to Ukraine indirectly by helping replenish depleted stockpiles in the US and other NATO countries like Poland, but directly supplying weapons is another story.

Even if South Korea supplies weapons to Kiev, this will probably not change the situation in the region where Russia is conducting a special military operation in Ukraine, Director of the Eurasian Institute for Strategic Studies, former Minister Counselor of the South Korean Embassy in Russia Park Byung-hwan, told TASS.

However, the expert noted that this could worsen relations between Moscow and Seoul.

South Korea to deliver first K9A1 Thunder self-propelled guns to Poland in December 2022. Photo: Militarnyi

Park recalled that after Russia and North Korea signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty on June 19, South Korea announced that it would review its policy of not providing weapons to Ukraine. Seoul is currently sending Kiev humanitarian and financial aid and non-lethal military items such as mine detectors, but not weapons.

"South Korea's provision of weapons to Ukraine will not have a major impact on the situation on the battlefield. This decision has limitations in terms of preventing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," Park told Russia's state news agency on August 5.

Earlier, media quoted an unnamed South Korean official as saying that South Korea had decided to use "strategic ambiguity" about aid to Ukraine as a pressure measure to "prevent the transfer of military technology" from Moscow to Pyongyang.

“South Korea’s arms supply to Ukraine will only worsen bilateral relations with Russia,” Park added. In late June, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the scope and nature of possible assistance to Ukraine from South Korea would depend on the level of cooperation between Russia and North Korea following the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty.

On June 19, during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang, a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between Russia and North Korea was signed. This treaty implies immediate military support in the event of a war.

The Russian president said the deal was not a security concern for South Korea. Putin had previously warned that the decision to supply South Korean weapons to Ukraine would damage bilateral relations between Russia and South Korea.

Minh Duc (According to TASS, FT)