President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Thursday that South Korea won’t “sit by idly” and plans to take “necessary measures” in a phased manner depending on the progress of Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation.
“We condemned in strong terms North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and provocations and illegal military cooperation with Russia,” Yoon said during a joint press conference alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul.
Regarding the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia to support its war on Ukraine, Yoon said he told Duda, “South Korea will never sit by idly, and depending on the progress of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, we will take necessary measures in a step-by-step manner with the international community.”
Last Friday, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that North Korea plans to send some 12,000 soldiers, including special forces, to support Russia. The NIS further told lawmakers Wednesday that 10,000 soldiers are expected to be deployed by December and that 3,000 have already been deployed.
“North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia, which is in direct violation of the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions, is a provocation that threatens the security of the entire world beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe,” Yoon said in the press conference discussing his bilateral summit with Duda Thursday as the Polish leader made a four-day state visit.Yoon also hinted that South Korea could reconsider shifting from its current stance of not providing lethal aid to a country in war depending on how North-Russia’s military cooperation unfolds.
The Korean leader said that South Korea has been “providing support to Ukraine from a humanitarian perspective” but added that “if North Korea sends special forces to the war in Ukraine for the sake of Russia-North cooperation, we will support Ukraine in each step and review and implement measures necessary for the security of the Korean Peninsula.”
While South Korea “in principle doesn’t directly supply lethal weapons,” Yoon said taking a question from a reporter, “we can review this more flexibly depending on North Korea’s military activities.”
“We have decided to strengthen joint efforts between our two countries to restore peace and rebuild Ukraine,” Yoon said on Kyiv’s postwar reconstruction efforts.
He stressed that the South Korean government will continue to expand support for the Ukrainian people through its Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative, which he announced during his surprise visit to Kyiv in July last year, and will “closely cooperate with Poland in the process.”
Yoon noted that “South Korea and Poland know the pain of war better than anyone else” and plan to work together to discover ways to support Ukraine’s reconstruction so that the country can “escape the devastation of war as soon as possible and open a new future.”
Earlier, Yoon greeted Duda in a welcome ceremony at the presidential office, followed by their bilateral summit, during which they discussed economic, security and defense industry cooperation.
![President Yoon Suk Yeol, front right, and Polish President Andrzej Duda, front left, accompanied by first ladies Kim Keon Hee, back right, and Agata Kornhauser-Duda, take part in a welcome ceremony ahead of their bilateral summit at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/24/d3f0e111-a668-4eed-b830-9a37ca6fafc7.jpg)
The two leaders agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation across various fields, including the defense industry, energy, transportation and infrastructure, high-tech industries, science and technology and cultural exchanges during their bilateral summit.
The two sides stressed the need to strengthen their cooperative partnership in the defense industry, the presidential office said in a statement. This includes the smooth implementation of South Korea’s largest-ever weapons export deal, signed with Poland in 2022, amounting to some $44.2 billion. The defense contracts include the export of South Korea’s K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and FA-50 light attack aircraft.
South Korea expects to be able to seal an additional $7 billion deal for K2 tank exports to Poland this year.
“As commander in chief of the Polish military, I am very satisfied with South Korea’s excellent weapons,” Duda said during the joint press conference. “I hope that South Korean weapons will be produced in Poland in the future, and that these weapons produced in our country can be exported not only to Poland but also to other European countries.”
The two countries agreed to take a stern response to illegal Russia-North Korea military cooperation, including North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and threats and the dispatch of troops to Russia, Yoon’s office said. They also agreed to cooperate closely on North Korea’s denuclearization and the promotion of human rights.
Duda and first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda began a four-day state visit to Korea from Tuesday.
This marks the first state visit by a Polish president to Korea in 11 years. Yoon and Duda have held four bilateral summits to date, including during Yoon’s state visit to Poland last year and at the NATO summit in Washington in July.
Korea and Poland mark the 35th anniversary of bilateral ties this year.
Duda also met with Korean businesspeople and attended a state dinner hosted by the presidential couple.
On Friday, Duda was scheduled to visit arms manufacturers Hyundai Rotem, which produces the K2s, and Hanwha Aerospace, which makes the Chunmoo rocket systems, before departing for Poland.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
