Russia Threatens To Give North Korea Advanced Weapons If Seoul Arms Ukraine

Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has threatened that the Kremlin could give advanced weapons to North Korea if South Korea moves to send military aid to Ukraine. 

This comes in response to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol floating the possibility of a drastic policy shift. He’ll travel to the United States next week for an official visit. He said in a Reuters interview published Wednesday, “If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support.”

“I believe there won’t be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that’s been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law,” Yoon explained. “Considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures,” he added.

As Reuters notes, “It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.”

Last year, US officials and Western media made accusations that North Korea was supplying Russia with artillery ammo and other defense items.

But if Russia actually gave advanced weapons to Pyongyang and the Kim Jong-Un regime, Washington would go ballistic, particularly at this sensitive moment of heightened tensions following repeat missile tests by the north.

But Medvedev is threatening just that, according to Russian media:

“I wonder what the residents of this nation would say when they see the newest example of Russian weapons in possession of their closest neighbors, our partners from the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea]?” Medvedev wrote on social media.

The threat certainly ups the ante and is likely to impact Seoul’s decision-making. 

Some South Korean officials have reportedly mulled the possibility of indirectly aiding Ukraine, which would involve making the weapons available to a third-party country which in turn would arm Kiev. Likely this scenario is something the Biden administration would support.