"Bloody Alliance": Why South Korea is afraid of DPRK's participation in the war in Ukraine - The Guardian
In exchange for weapons and troops, Pyongyang will receive money and possibly Russian know-how in the field of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines. The modernization of the Korean People's Army will dramatically exacerbate the threat from the north. "The deployment of North Korea troops signals that the war in Ukraine is no longer a conflict that has little in common with South Korea," Korea Times reported in the recent editorial article.
Korea Herald noted that the mass departure of troops indicates that the relations of the Russian Federation and North Korea are not limited to the supply of rifles, shells and small range missiles. In South Korea, they fears that the participation of the DPRK in the war along the border may be tension near the border.
This week, the media reported that the South is considering the possibility of correction of officials to Ukraine to provide intelligence on the tactics of fighting and participation in interrogations of prisoners of North Korean soldiers. South Korea is considered the ninth largest weapon exporter in the world. Last year, it was sold for $ 14 billion.
But in its foreign policy, the country has long been following the rules not to supply weapons to countries involved in military conflicts, including Ukraine. At the same time, the deployment of North Korean troops increases the pressure on Seoul and pushes to remove such a restriction. This step is intended to overcome legal and political obstacles. This week, South Korean President Jun Jec has warned that the weapons of the Ukrainian forces were regarded as an opportunity for response.
According to him, the country "will not sit down" until the north "threatens global security. " "Although we adhere to our principle of rejection of direct weapons supply, we can also look more flexible, depending on the level of military activity of North Korea," he said. The desire for decisive support for Ukraine is growing in Seoul, even if it increases the likelihood that North Korean soldiers will die from South Korean weapons.
Yuan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy, noted that the main question is whether Seoul will weaken restrictions on direct military assistance. "In some cases, it will require constitutional changes, so it's not easy," he said. According to him, Kim agreed to deploy his troops for "cynical transactional purposes, not the general strategic interests.
" "At the same time, it is a remarkable turn of events, given that even the neighbor of Ukraine Belarus did not directly participate in hostilities. " Seven decades after the three -year conflict ended with a truce and the creation of the most strengthened border in the world, North and South Korea now wage a indirect war in Europe, according to Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of international relations at the Royal College of London.
"The South is already indirectly providing military assistance to Ukraine [supplied artillery shells, which are sold to allies of Kyiv and then departing Ukraine], and the north supplies Russia directly. Both south and north receive valuable information from this war. If Seoul directly transmitted to Kiev deadly weapons This would only emphasize that the two Korea is undermining the war, "Pacheco Pardo added.