South Korea Seoul considers supplying arms to Ukraine

South Korea is considering directly supplying weapons to Ukraine amid increasing evidence that North Korean soldiers are preparing to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine.

- Pjotr Sauer

South Korea's spy agency (NIS) said last week that North Korea had dispatched 1,500 special forces personnel to Russia's far east for training and acclimatising at local military bases for future combat alongside Moscow's troops in Ukraine. Local media, citing the NIS, said Pyongyang had decided to deploy 12,000 troops, formed into four brigades, to Russia.

A senior official at the office of South Korea's president, Yoon Suk Yeol, said yesterday that Seoul could consider providing defensive and lethal weapons to Ukraine depending on developments.