South Korea condemns North Korea's new security pact with Russia – and is set to reconsider its decision not to supply Ukraine with weapons.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has met North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang, where the two autocrats announced a sort of security agreement where they will support each other in the event of military attacks.
This poses a threat to South Korea's security and will affect the relationship between South Korea and Russia, according to a source at the presidential office in Seoul for AP.
Putin: Big mistake
The South Korean government will now reconsider its decision to only supply Ukraine with non-lethal equipment. The South Korean decision was made early on during the Russian invasion war and has been questioned by the country's allies. The question of sending weapons will be raised again, according to the informant at the presidential office.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says in response that it would be a big mistake to send weapons to Ukraine, and that Russia will react in a way that the government in Seoul "will probably not like". He also says that Russia does not rule out sending weapons to North Korea.
Japanese concern
Japan is also expressing strong concern over the pact between neighbouring countries North Korea and Russia.
The Japanese government's spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi points out that the Russian president "did not rule out military-technical cooperation with North Korea". He also describes it as completely unacceptable that Putin questioned the extensive UN sanctions targeting the dictatorship.
In defiance of the international community's will, Russia has procured weapons and ammunition, including ballistic missiles, from North Korea and used them in Ukraine in a clear violation of relevant resolutions in the UN Security Council, says Hayashi at a press conference.
