South Korea will study the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine, a presidential adviser in Seoul said Thursday, June 20, 2024, an announcement that came after North Korea and Russia signed a security pact providing for a joint defense in the event of an attack against one of the two countries.
Seoul is determined to respond, in harmony with the international community, to any act that threatens its security, Blue House national security adviser Chang Ho-jin said at a press briefing.
If it has provided defensive equipment to Ukraine since the start of the offensive launched by Russia in February 2022, South Korea has so far refrained from delivering weapons to kyiv, despite requests of the Ukrainian government.
In a statement, Seoul also condemned the strategic partnership sealed this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the former’s visit to Pyongyang.
Putin threatens Seoul
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Vietnam on Thursday with “provide weapons” to North Korea, while assuring that the supply of weapons by South Korea to Ukraine would be a “very serious error”.
“We reserve the right to supply weapons to other parts of the world, bearing in mind our agreements with North Korea, and I do not rule out this possibility”declared Mr. Putin to the press.
Mr. Putin had already threatened at the beginning of June to deliver weapons to third countries, in response to the delivery of Western arms to Ukraine and the authorization given to kyiv by the United States and several European countries to strike the Russian territory with the Western missiles delivered to it.
The United States called“extremely worrying” these comments from the Russian president, adding that this would risk “destabilize the Korean peninsula”.
Romania helps Ukraine
Romania announced Thursday the sending of a Patriot air defense system to kyiv to help its neighbor protect itself against Russian strikes, a decision welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO.
Bucharest had previously indicated “donate a Patriot system, given the clear deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine”according to a press release from the Superior Council of National Defense.
In return, Romania says it is negotiating with its NATO partners, notably the United States, “to obtain a similar system capable of ensuring the protection of its airspace” and in the meantime find “a temporary solution”.
It would be “unacceptable to leave Romania without air defense means”warned President Klaus Iohannis at the beginning of May, during a meeting in Washington with his American counterpart Joe Biden.
In a message published on X, Mr. Zelensky said he ” grateful “ towards Romania. “This crucial contribution will strengthen our air shield and help us better protect our population and critical infrastructure against Russian air terrorism”.
Trial of Russian-American woman in Moscow
The trial of an American woman of Russian origin began Thursday in Yekaterinburg. She is accused of treason for making a $50 donation to a Ukrainian charity.
Ksenia Karelina, a 32-year-old ballerina based in Los Angeles, California, was arrested in January while visiting her family in Russia.
The Russian Federal Security Service accuses him of having “proactively transferred funds” to help a Ukrainian organization purchase, among other things, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Karelina’s boyfriend told radio Voice of America that she made a one-time donation of $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
US bans Kaspersky software
Washington announced Thursday the ban on Russian antivirus software Kaspersky in the United States, as well as Americans elsewhere in the world. The ban also concerns subsidiaries and companies linked to this company.
“Kaspersky will no longer be able to, among other activities, sell its software in the United States or provide updates to software already in use”indicated the US Department of Commerce in a press release, specifying that certain activities may however continue to be carried out until September 29, in order to give customers time to find an alternative.