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Supplies of South Korean weapons not to change special military op — Russian diplomat

"But they would change the nature of relations between Moscow and Seoul and would wreck the prospects of their restoration," Georgy Zinovyev said

SEOUL, October 24. /TASS/. Supplies of South Korean weapons to Ukraine will be unable to change the outcome on the special military operation, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinovyev said.

"Soul’s supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine would not change the outcome of the conflict, but they would change the nature of relations between Moscow and Seoul and would wreck the prospects of their restoration," he said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo daily, commenting on reports about South Korea’s possible revision of its position on this matter.

Until now, South Korea has been providing Ukraine with financial and humanitarian assistance, but has not supplied lethal weapons.

After South Korea’s intelligence said that North Korea had already begun sending troops to Russia, Seoul promised to take measures to respond to the situation. Local media reported, citing sources, that the country’s authorities are looking at toughening their position on weapons supplies to Ukraine depending on the development of the situation: from continuing assistance without weapons supplies to the transfer of lethal arms.

The Russian diplomat noted however that he doesn’t have official information about the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. "I cannot confirm these reports," he said. "To my mid, what has been provided as evidence of this is not convincing."

According to Zinovyev, Ukraine’s "hysterical campaign" around such reports stems from its "desperate situation" and is geared to "to push its Western partners toward increasing support."

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on October 10 that the allegations about the participation of the Korean People's Army in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine looked like another media hoax.