In a phone interview with President Zelensky on the 20th, President Yoon said, "North Korea has been sending military weapons to Russia.
"They are going beyond providing support and are taking the risky and unprecedented step of sending special forces," he said, adding, "South Korea and Ukraine, which are direct stakeholders in the close military relationship between Russia and North Korea, will need to communicate closely and coordinate our response."
North Korea has sent troops, including special forces, to Russia to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The National Intelligence Service said it expects the number of troops sent by North Korea to reach 10,000 by the end of the year.
There are concerns that in return for sending troops, Russia will transfer cutting-edge military technology, such as missiles and submarines, to North Korea.
President Yoon said, "The possibility of Russia transferring military technology to North Korea is also an issue, but after the Korean War,
"If North Korea, which is not even fighting a war, were to have its entire army of over one million soldiers learn from its experience in the Ukraine war, it would pose a major threat to South Korea's security," he said.
"We will not tolerate North Korea's military alliance that threatens the security of the Republic of Korea," he said, adding, "We will closely monitor the battlefield situation going forward and take effective, step-by-step response measures."
The South Korean government has already hinted at the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine. President Yoon last week met with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
In a media statement after the summit with the President, he said, "We have a fundamental principle of not directly supplying lethal weapons, but even in that respect, we may be more flexible depending on the activities of the North Korean military.
During the call, President Zelensky expressed his gratitude for South Korea's support for Ukraine and stated that the G7 countries have made bilateral security arrangements with Ukraine clear.
The two sides also requested that South Korea join the "Virunews Declaration," which was adopted in 2016. They also decided to send a special envoy to South Korea in the near future to explore ways to jointly respond to the military collusion between Russia and North Korea.
2024/10/30 13:12 KST
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