South Korea reconsidering arming Ukraine – Bloomberg

Donald Trump’s victory has made it less likely that Seoul will supply weapons, the news agency has said

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election is affecting South Korea’s calculations on whether it should start supplying weapons to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing officials in Seoul.

Members of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government have suggested that the country could reverse its long-time policy of not arming Kiev, after stating last month that North Korea was deploying thousands of troops to Russia.

This week, Moscow and Pyongyang ratified a bilateral treaty which includes provisions for military assistance against foreign aggression. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that the way the two nations deliver on their mutual obligations is their own business.

Seoul is reconsidering its stance after Trump’s victory as it expects a change in Washington’s approach to the Ukraine conflict under his administration, Bloomberg reported, citing two South Korean officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The probability of arms supplies is now lower, the agency believes. The president’s office has said it will “closely coordinate with our allies and partners” in its policies.

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“It would be pretty awkward for South Korea, not even a member of NATO, to step in at this point if Trump moves into the White House and wants to pull out from the conflict,” Kim Jung, a political science professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told the news outlet.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that arming Kiev’s forces would be beneficial for South Korea. Seoul would be able to test the quality of its weapons against North Korean troops in actual battle, he argued in an interview with South Korean national broadcaster KBS in late October. Zelensky also suggested that Seoul would need allies in the event of an attack by the North.

The Pentagon has estimated that up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia for training and potential deployment against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Region. Kiev launched an incursion into the Russian region in August.

The Russian military estimated Ukrainian casualties in the operation at over 32,500, as of Thursday.