South Korean President Hints at Arms Supply to Ukraine, Reaches Out to NATO, and Trump Discusses North Korea

On November 7, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that his country does not rule out the possibility of providing weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia.

South Korea is extremely concerned about North Korea sending troops to Russia. (Source: KCNA)

Reuters news agency quoted Mr. Yoon emphasizing that North Korea's participation in the conflict in Ukraine helps Pyongyang gain much-needed combat experience, while this is something the South Korean army lacks, so it will be a threat to Seoul.

The South Korean leader also expressed concern about the possibility that Moscow would “repay” Pyongyang by transferring sensitive military technology to North Korea.

Also regarding the issue of North Korea deploying troops to Russia, earlier, on November 6, Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol had a phone call with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte to discuss coordinated responses.

This is the third phone call between Yoon Suk Yeol and Rutte in less than a month, following a recent visit by a South Korean delegation to NATO, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine to discuss North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.

During the phone call, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Seoul is arranging for a Ukrainian special envoy to visit South Korea to share information and coordinate a joint response, and pledged to maintain close communication with NATO on the issue.

For his part, Mr. Rutte stressed that South Korea, NATO and other like-minded countries need to strengthen solidarity in dealing with the unprecedented security crisis caused by this development.

NATO leaders also revealed that the alliance plans to establish a task force to strengthen cooperation with the EU to address growing security threats, expressing hope to maintain close communication and cooperation between South Korea, Ukraine and NATO.

On the morning of November 7, President Yoon Suk Yeol also had a phone call with Mr. Donald Trump after the former US president was re-elected as the White House boss for a second term.

The two sides discussed the ROK-US alliance, trilateral cooperation between ROK, US and Japan, the North Korean issue and the situation in Ukraine. President Yoon highly appreciated Mr. Trump's contributions to bilateral relations during his previous term.

For his part, Mr. Trump expressed his desire to maintain good cooperation with South Korea. The two leaders agreed to meet directly soon to discuss in depth the areas of cooperation.

Analysts predict that in his second term, Mr. Trump could bring about changes in the alliance relationship. It is likely that the US will increase pressure on Seoul to shoulder more of its financial obligations in the cost of stationing 28,500 US troops in South Korea. Another focus that Mr. Trump could promote is the issue of North Korea's denuclearization.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/korean-president-updates-the-possibility-of-arms-when-choosing-ukraine-to-den-nato-and-ong-trump-ban-ve-trieu-tien-292891.html