North Korea Accuses Sending Troops To Russia, South Korea Considers Supplying Weapons To Ukraine

South Korean Presidential Office. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - South Korea may be considering supplying direct weapons to Ukraine as part of a measure to counter military relations between North Korea and Russia, officials said on Tuesday, after accusing Pyongyang of sending troops to war for Russia in Ukraine.

A senior official at President Yoon Suk-yeol's office said his party was preparing diplomatic, economic and military measures under various scenarios of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including providing lethal weapons to Ukraine if the situation worsened.

"We will consider supplying weapons for defense purposes as part of a step-by-step scenario, and if it seems too far, we may also consider offensive use," the official told reporters.

Seoul, which has emerged as a leading arms manufacturer, has come under pressure from several Western countries and Kyiv to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, but has so far focused on non-lethal assistance including mine disposal equipment.

President Yoon's office said it would review the possibility of giving Ukraine weapons after North Korea and Russia signed a joint defense agreement in June. However, the senior official's statement hinted at Seoul's most proactive position towards Ukraine's weapons.

The comments came after South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) held an emergency meeting to explore its response to North Korea's growing military relations with Russia.

The NSC said Pyongyang acted like a "criminal organization" by sending youths to war as "Russian mercenaries" while ignoring the livelihoods and human rights of its domestic people.

"Our government calls for an immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops, and if the current military collusion between North Korea and Russia continues, we will not remain silent and will respond firmly together with the international community," he said in a statement.

The senior official said a team of intelligence and defense officials would visit NATO headquarters "in the coming days", after Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on President Yoon by phone on Monday to send a delegation to increase the distribution of information.

Earlier, South Korea's spy agency last week said North Korea had sent 1,500 special forces personnel to Russia's Far East for training and aclimatization at a local military base likely to be used for war battles in Ukraine.

Russia and North Korea have denied arms transfers but have pledged to improve military relations.