The arrival of North Korean troops to Russian territory to support the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, together with the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the United States presidential elections, has raised blisters in South Korea, which now he is considering sending weapons to the country led by Zelensky as support in the war, according to several officials cited by the media
However, others consider that the country led by Korean Yoon Suk Yeol, The Ukrainians will think twice before giving aidunless North Korea takes new measures in favor of Russia. “It would be quite uncomfortable for South Korea, which is not even a member of NATO, to intervene at this time if Trump comes to the White House and wants to withdraw from the conflict,” said Professor Kim Jung, a political science expert at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Despite this, the president’s office responded that The government will seek a countermeasure after the deployment of 12,000 Korean troops, according to US estimates. “We will coordinate closely with our allies and partners in this process,” he said in a statement after being questioned about the shipment of weapons by Bloomberg. “We do not rule out arms support,” He pointed out, and added that in the case of making a weapons delivery, “defensive weapons will be the first to be considered.”
The possible entry of South Korea generates debates
Although South Korea’s aid to kyiv could be of great use to Zelensky’s country, It could also be the same for South Korean companies, who could participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the conflict. However, there is also a danger that this will anger North Korea and Russia, leading to an escalation of the conflict.
“Even if South Korea could not prevent all of North Korea’s actions, it could perhaps affect the degree of North Korea’s involvement,” said Dr. Naoko Aoki, a political scientist at Rang Corp in Washington. “North Korea could do much more, and South Korea wants to minimize North Korean activities“, he concluded. Furthermore, it is a decision that, although Biden would probably approve, it is not known how it would sit with Trump, who promised to end the war “in 24 hours.”
Another obstacle that South Korea faces in these terms is lack of public support, especially after announcing his approval rating at a historic low of 17%, according to the latest Gallup poll. In addition, the main opposition party in the government, the Democratic Party, also called for stopping any arms shipments to Ukraine.
The support of the United States
In the event that the United States decides to cut its financing to Ukraine, The rest of the powers will have to decide if they will help kyiv, or, on the contrary, they also abandon Zelensky. The president of Ukraine, for his part, stated that he would send an envoy to Seoul to request weapons and ask the country about its position.
It should be noted that South Korea has stockpiles of 155mm artillery shells, the standard used by Ukraine and NATO. However, as the media explains ‘StraitsTimes’, The country “is wary of turning Russia into its own enemy,” since the Russian Foreign Ministry has warned of “security consequences” for North Korea’s neighbor if it sends weapons to Ukraine.
Russia, for its part, has admitted that it cannot rule out the delivery of high-precision weapons in response to Western support for Ukraine. “Russia has a clear way to retaliate by potentially supplying North Korea with dangerous military technologies, such as ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and perhaps even nuclear weapons technology,” stressed Dr. Andrei Lankov, a professor specializing in North Korea. at Kookmin University in Seoul. Now, after Trump’s victory, according to this doctor, it is “very likely that the war will enter a new chapter.”
