South Korea considers arms aid for Ukraine

So far, the emerging arms exporting nation South Korea has only supplied helmets, protective vests and mine clearance equipment to Ukraine. However, the expansion of the brotherhood in arms between North Korea and Russia into a military alliance at the North Korean-Russian summit in mid-June is undermining this self-restraint.

South Korean government security adviser Chang Ho Jin recently announced that Seoul would reconsider its policy toward Ukraine. “If Russia were to supply North Korea with advanced precision weapons, we would no longer have any reason to adhere to any restrictions,” he said.

A reaction from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined the importance of a change of course in Seoul for the battlefields in Ukraine. He would welcome such deliveries, he said several times in interviews. South Korea has an advanced defense industry, said Stoltenberg.

If South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol decides to change course, Ukraine would become the scene of an inter-Korean weapons show. So far, only enemy North Korea has supplied artillery ammunition, short-range missiles and weapons for Russia’s war of aggression. South Korea has refrained from exporting weapons so as not to give Russia a reason to provide more military aid to North Korea.

The government in Seoul has so far only indirectly supported the American-led coalition against Russia. According to security experts, the South Koreans are supplying the USA with ammunition. This is to bridge the bottlenecks that have arisen because Washington is sending large quantities to Ukraine. South Korea does not want the USA to be unable to support its East Asian ally in the event of a war on the Korean peninsula because of empty warehouses.

The Putin-Kim summit increases South Korea’s sense of threat

The closer cooperation between Russia and North Korea could now give South Korea’s government a reason to change course. The trip to North Korea by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 19 alone underlined that tensions are growing on both Russia’s western and eastern borders.

To this day, it is unknown whether Putin has promised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un military equipment in addition to supplies of energy, food and know-how for space rocket and satellite launches.

What is certain, however, is that North Korea and Russia have signed a military assistance pact. Russia explained to the South Korean government that the alliance was not directed against the South, but would only intervene in the event of a defensive situation. But mistrust in Seoul is deep-seated.

Why the world is ordering South Korea’s weapons

In 2023 alone, the South sold military equipment worth almost 14 billion dollars, and the trend is rising. However, demand from its own military is not enough to maintain a powerful defense industry. The growing tensions between China and the USA and especially the Ukraine war have opened up many markets.

In addition to Poland and the USA, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, among others, have concluded major arms deals with Seoul. South Korea may not be a technological leader. But the country’s former lieutenant general Chun In Bum explains: “Our strengths are that we can deliver quickly and are willing to manufacture in co-production.”

The manufacturer Hyundai Rotem has exported the first tanks for Poland. But the partners want to produce the majority locally. Chun warns of a possible outflow of technology. But he also sees a strategic advantage for South Korea. “The spare parts manufactured in Poland could be useful to help us in the event of a war on the South Korean peninsula.”