South Korea criticizes agreement between Russia and North Korea and considers possible arms deliveries to Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s presidential office has condemned a deal between Russia and North Korea pledging mutual defense assistance in the event of war, and said the country will reconsider its policy of limiting nonlethal weapons support to Ukraine.

The comments from a senior presidential official on Thursday came after the office released a statement condemning the agreement reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The office said the agreement posed a threat to South Korea’s security and warned it would negatively impact Seoul’s relations with Moscow.

The presidential official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing in accordance with office rules, said Seoul would respond by reconsidering the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine to help the country fight the Russian invasion.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military backed by the U.S., has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S. economic sanctions against Moscow. However, the country has not directly supplied arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively involved in conflict.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The new agreement between Russia and North Korea, which the two leaders agreed to at a summit in Pyongyang, obliges both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military support in the event of war, North Korean state media reported on Thursday.

Both North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin described Wednesday’s agreement as a significant expansion of bilateral ties in the areas of security, trade, investment, culture and humanitarian aid. Observers outside the United States said it could be the strongest bond between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War.

The North’s official Korean News Agency reported the text of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement on Thursday. The agency said Article 4 of the agreement states that if one of the countries is attacked and pushed into a state of war, the other country must use “without delay all means at its disposal” to provide “military and other assistance.” But it also says such measures must be in line with the laws of both countries and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognizes the right of a UN member state to self-defense.

The Kim-Putin summit came as the United States and its allies expressed growing concern over a potential arms deal under which Pyongyang would supply Moscow with much-needed munitions for the war in Ukraine in return for economic aid and technology transfers that could further increase the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

After the summit, Kim said the two countries enjoyed a “fiery friendship” and the agreement was their “strongest treaty ever,” bringing relations to the level of an alliance. He vowed to fully support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin called it a “groundbreaking document” that reflected a shared desire to take relations to a higher level.

North Korea and the former Soviet Union signed a treaty in 1961 that, according to experts, provided for military intervention by Moscow in the event of an attack on the North. The treaty was scrapped after the collapse of the USSR and replaced in 2000 by a new one that offered weaker security guarantees.

A full day after the summit, South Korean politicians said they were still interpreting the results, including how Russia might respond if the North were attacked. Analysts were divided on whether the agreement obligates Russia to automatically take military action on behalf of the North in the event of war, or whether it was carefully drafted enough to avoid such an obligation. It was also not immediately clear why the article invokes the UN Charter.

“We are currently reviewing the details of the treaty signed between Russia and North Korea during President Putin’s visit to North Korea. We will announce our government’s position once we are finished,” Lim Soosuk, spokesman for the South Korean Foreign Ministry, said during a press conference.

Nevertheless, Lim expressed regret that Moscow and Pyongyang signed the agreement while openly talking about military and technological cooperation that would violate UN Security Council resolutions.

“Based on our detailed analysis and assessment of the outcomes of (Putin’s) visit, including the Russia-North Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, we will work with the international community, including our allies and friends, to take appropriately strong and decisive measures against any actions that threaten our security,” Lim said.

The deal was struck as Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years. The visit highlighted the two countries’ personal and geopolitical ties: Kim hugged Putin twice at the airport, their motorcade drove past giant Russian flags and portraits of Putin, and a welcoming ceremony was held in Pyongyang’s main square that was apparently attended by tens of thousands of spectators.

According to KCNA, the agreement also states that Pyongyang and Moscow will not be allowed to enter into agreements with third parties that harm the other party’s “core interests” and will not engage in actions that threaten those interests.

According to KCNA, the agreements commit countries to prepare joint measures to strengthen their defense capabilities to prevent wars and protect peace and security in the region and globally. However, the agency did not provide details on what the measures are and whether they include joint military training and other cooperation.

The agreement also calls for active cooperation between the two countries in efforts to create a “fair and multipolar new world order,” KCNA said, underscoring how the two countries are joining forces in the face of their separate, escalating confrontations with the United States.

In recent months, Kim has made Russia his priority and pursued a foreign policy aimed at expanding relations with countries at odds with Washington, embracing the idea of ​​a “new Cold War” and seeking to present a united front in Putin’s larger conflicts with the West.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have reached their highest level in years. Kim’s weapons tests as well as the joint military exercises of the US, South Korea and Japan are increasing in a cycle of mutual insults.

The two Koreas also waged a Cold War-style psychological war, with North Korea throwing tons of garbage at the South using balloons and the South spreading anti-North Korean propaganda over loudspeakers.