SKorea may consider sending Ukraine arms over NKorea-Russia ties

PHOTO CAPTION: A Republic of Korea Marine zeroes out his weapon at Gimpo, Republic of Korea, Feb. 5, 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tyler Giguere via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea may consider directly supplying weapons to Ukraine as part of measures to counter military ties between North Korea and Russia, officials said on Tuesday, after accusing Pyongyang of sending troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

South Korea's spy agency said last week that North Korea had shipped 1,500 special forces personnel to Russia's Far East for training and acclimatising at local military bases likely for combat in the war in Ukraine.

A senior official at President Yoon Suk Yeol's office said it was preparing diplomatic, economic and military measures under various scenarios of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, including providing Ukraine with lethal weapons if the situation worsened.

"We would consider supplying weapons for defensive purposes as part of the step-by-step scenarios, and if it seems they are going too far, we might also consider offensive use," the presidential official told reporters.

Seoul, which has emerged as a leading arms producer, has been under pressure from some Western countries and Kyiv to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons but has so far focused on non-lethal aid including demining equipment.

Yoon's office had said it would revisit the possibility of giving weapons to Ukraine after North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defence treaty in June, but the senior official's remarks signal Seoul's most proactive position toward arming Ukraine.

The comment came after South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) held an emergency meeting to explore its responses over North Korea's increasing military ties with Russia.

The NSC said Pyongyang was acting like a "criminal organisation" by sending young men to fight as "Russia's mercenaries" while ignoring its people's livelihood and human rights at home.

"Our government called for an immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops, and if the current military collusion between North Korea and Russia continues, we will not sit idle and will respond sternly together with the international community," it said in a statement.

The senior official said a team of intelligence and defence officials will visit NATO headquarters "within coming days" after its chief Mark Rutte asked President Yoon during a phone call on Monday to send a delegation to boost information sharing.

Both Russia and North Korea have denied arms transfers but have pledged to boost military ties.



(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Hyonhee Shin and Jack Kim; Writing by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Ed Davies)