South Korea warns against sending weapons to Ukraine after reports of North Korean troops in Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea warned Tuesday that it may consider sending weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea’s alleged deployment of troops to Russia, as both North Korea and Russia denied the moves.

The South Korean statement is apparently intended to put pressure on Russia not to use North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. South Korean officials fear that Russia could reward North Korea by providing it with advanced weapons technologies that can boost the North’s nuclear and missile programs targeting South Korea.

At an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, senior South Korean officials condemned North Korea’s alleged troop deployment as “a serious security threat” to South Korea and the international community. They described North Korea as “a criminal group” that forces its youth to serve as Russian mercenaries in an unjustified war, said a statement from the South Korean presidential office.

The officials agreed to take gradual countermeasures and to tie the scale of their response to progress in Russian-North Korean military cooperation, according to the statement.

Possible steps include diplomatic, economic and military options, and South Korea could consider sending both defensive and offensive weapons to Ukraine, a senior South Korean presidential official told reporters on condition of anonymity to speak at a background briefing.

The official said North Korea could try to use high-tech Russian technologies to perfect its nuclear missiles. The official said possible Russian support for North Korea’s efforts to modernize its aging conventional weapons systems and acquire a space-based surveillance system would also pose a serious security threat to South Korea.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow and sent humanitarian and financial support to Kyiv. However, in line with its policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively involved in conflicts, it has avoided direct arms sales to Ukraine.

South Korean intelligence said last week it had confirmed that North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces to Russia this month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his government had information that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces.

North Korea and Russia are intensifying their cooperation

North Korea and Russia have significantly intensified their cooperation in the past two years. In June they signed a key defense agreement that requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event of an attack. South Korea said at the time it would consider sending weapons to Ukraine and made a similar statement on Tuesday.

South Korean intelligence said North Korea has sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpile.

North Korea and Russia have denied the deployment of North Korean troops and the alleged arms transfer.

At a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia rejected the South Korean claim, as well as Western claims, that Iran was supplying missiles to Russia and China was supplying weapons components. He accused the West of “spreading scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and Korean bogeymen, each more absurd than the last.”

At a separate meeting of the U.N. committee, a North Korean diplomat said his delegation did not feel it necessary to comment on the troop deployment, calling it “unfounded, stereotypical rumors aimed at tarnishing the image” of the North and the to undermine legitimate cooperation between two sovereign states.

Also on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister called the governments of South Korea and Ukraine “crazy” as she accused them of “reckless comments toward nuclear-armed states.”

The United States and NATO have not confirmed North Korea’s troop buildup, but warned of the danger of such a development if true.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said that if true, the North Korean troop deployment represents “a dangerous and extremely concerning development,” noting that the U.S. “is in agreement with our allies and partners advise such a dramatic step.”

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.