Days after finalizing a new mutual defense pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to provide North Korea with weapons if South Korea proceeds with plans to arm Ukraine.
South Korea, which has only supplied non-lethal aid to Ukraine so far, is considering arming Kyiv in response to the newly formed alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang, reminiscent of Cold War-era partnerships.
Putin warned that South Korea arming Ukraine would be a "very big mistake."
“If this happens, then we will also make appropriate decisions that the current leadership of South Korea would hardly like,” he stated during his state visit to Vietnam on Thursday, which followed his visit to Pyongyang.
“We reserve our right to supply weapons to other regions of the world,” he added.
On Friday, Putin further escalated his rhetoric by announcing that Russia will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent.
During his rare visit to Pyongyang, Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, allowing for mutual defense and military technology transfers that could support Russia's efforts in Ukraine.
The partnership has provoked anger in Seoul, with South Korean National Security Advisor Chang Ho-Jin stating, “we plan to reconsider the issue of arms support to Ukraine.”
In response, Putin compared the potential arming of North Korea to the West's support for Ukraine.
“As for where these weapons will end up, we can also say: 'Well, the Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine' and say 'We don’t even control anything here, and it doesn’t matter how they are used,'” he remarked. “So we can put it in a similar way: 'We have supplied something to somebody and are not in control over anything after that.'”
Putin's comments are likely to increase tensions among key U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, and North Korea.
“It is incredibly concerning,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a news conference on Thursday. “It would destabilize the Korean Peninsula.”
Regarding the prospect of South Korea arming Ukraine, Miller added, “That is a decision for every country to make in terms of whether they are going to supply weapons to Ukraine.”
The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
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