SEOUL, August 5. /TASS/. Possible supplies of South Korean weapons to Ukraine will not change the situation in the area of the special military operation, but may worsen relations between Russia and the Republic of Korea, the director of the Institute of Eurasian Strategic Studies, a former minister counselor at the embassy of the Republic of Korea in Russia Park Byung-hwan has told TASS.
He recalled that the Republic of Korea announced after the conclusion of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and North Korea on June 19 that it would reconsider its policy of refraining from arms supplies to Ukraine. Seoul had been sending to Kiev humanitarian and financial aid and non-lethal military items such as mine detectors, but not weapons.
"Arms supplies to Ukraine by the Republic of Korea will be unable to have a major impact on the situation on the battlefield. This decision has limitations in terms of deterring military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," the expert said. Earlier, the media, citing an unnamed South Korean official, said that the Republic of Korea had decided to stick to "strategic uncertainty" over supplies to Ukraine as a means of exerting pressure to "prevent the transfer of military technology" to Pyongyang.
"Arms supplies to Ukraine will only indicate how much the Republic of Korea is displeased and will worsen bilateral relations with Russia," Park added. In late June, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that the scope and nature of likely assistance to Ukraine from the Republic of Korea depended on the level of cooperation between Russia and the DPRK after the conclusion 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 the DPRK was signed. It implies immediate military assistance in case of a defensive war. The Russian president said the agreement was not a security concern for South Korea. Putin earlier warned that the decision to supply South Korean weapons to Ukraine would ruin bilateral relations between Russia and the Republic of Korea.