South Korea has largely stayed on the sidelines for more than two years of the Ukraine-Russia war, but is increasingly getting vocal with new allegations that North Korea is sending troops to fight in Ukraine on Russia’s behalf.

Seoul’s “answer” to the north might be to weaponize the other side, by providing 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine. So far this has only allegedly been done indirectly, by routing the shells to the United States. Seoul has called the presence of DPRK troops in Ukraine a “serious security threat” to the international community, and demanded that Pyongyang withdraw them immediately. South Korean media is also reporting that Seoul could send intelligence advisers to assist the Ukrainian military.

South Korean Ministry of Defense

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun has reportedly summoned Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev to express Seoul’s concerns over the alleged DPRK troop movements.

He warned his Russian counterpart that any military collaboration between Moscow and Pyongyang could destabilize the Korean Peninsula and would mark a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

“South Korea will respond with every possible means, alongside the international community, to any acts that threaten our core security interests,” Kim stated. The Russian side has downplayed the warnings, and conveyed that its view of who it is that contributes to destabilizing the Korean peninsula is different.

A defense source has pointed out that if Seoul decided to supply Ukraine with artillery shells, significant legal and bureaucratic hurdles would remain in the way:

South Korea’s Defense Procurement Act and Foreign Trade Act currently prohibit the transfer of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, either directly or through third parties. Both laws would need to be amended for the delivery of 155mm shells to be possible.

This development marks another chapter in South Korea’s internal debate on whether to support Ukraine militarily, which was first discussed in July 2023 and again in April 2022. However, despite this consideration, the likelihood of an immediate shift remains unclear as Ukraine continues to await the delivery of K600 mine-clearing tanks, which South Korea had previously pledged.

As for the claims that initially set off the diplomatic conflict and tensions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing hard new accusations that at least 10,000 North Korean troops are being sent to Ukraine where they will fight on behalf of the Russians.

South Korea’s spy agency has also backed Zelensky’s claim, chiming in last Friday to say that at least 1,500 North Korean special forces have already been sent. The spy agency says it has satellite images tracking these movements.

But over the weekend the Pentagon refused to back the reports, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin explaining  that he can’t confirm this narrative.

“I’ve seen those reports in the media. I can’t confirm those reports at this point in time. This is something that we will certainly continue to investigate,” Austin said Sunday.

South Korea’s Poongsan, owned by Vanguard and BlackRock, has already supplied hundreds of thousands 155mm shells to the war by “lending” them to the US, thus helping it arm Ukraine. The difference now is occupied South Korean taxpayers would foot the bill. War is a bloody racket. https://t.co/NywmQJULhx

— King Baeksu (@KingBaeksu) October 22, 2024

Zelensky has further been advancing the idea that the ‘enemies’ of the West have formed an axis to fight in Ukraine and ultimately push back NATO. He’s identified them as Russia, Iran, and North Korea. And yet it seems if there were ‘proof’ of North Korean troops pouring into the battle zone – including alleged satellite imagery – then NATO and the Pentagon would vouch for it. But for now there are still official dismissals of the claim.

So far, the Western alliance is also resisting Ukraine’s demands to greenlight long-range missile strikes deep into Russian territory. Putin has warned that this would cross all ‘red lines’ and unleash major escalation.