“Deployment is not considered… Monitoring and situation analysis teams are needed”
Regarding whether parliamentary consent is needed to dispatch a monitoring team, “The Defense Minister can make a decision on small-scale deployments”
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is in Washington D.C. to attend the 56th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), delivers a welcoming speech at the 12th Baik Seon-yup ROK-U.S. Alliance Award ceremony on the 29th (local time). Yonhap News
[Herald Economy’s Kim Hyun-kyung] Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun stated, in response to North Korea’s deployment in Russia, that the government will provide support to Ukraine within possible limits, stages will be followed, and no troop deployment is considered.
While visiting the U.S. for the ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), Minister Kim mentioned during a press conference at the Korean Embassy in Washington D.C. on the 30th (local time) that “stages mean how the situation in Ukraine develops and connecting with the international community.”
He added, “Currently, a government delegation is collecting information in NATO and assessing the situation in Ukraine, and when the delegation returns, the government will formulate a fundamental strategy based on the information collected from NATO and the field in Ukraine.”
He emphasized, “Deployment is out of the question,” and stated, “Monitoring teams or situation analysis teams are essential for the military or government to prepare for any future emergencies.”
He continued, “Because North Korean forces are involved in the Ukraine war, we must also monitor their movements, and there are new aspects of warfare such as drone warfare,” adding that “since Russian weapon systems are linked with North Korean weapon systems, we need to analyze these to properly prepare for future situations. This will be useful data for safeguarding national security and the free Republic of Korea.”
When asked whether dispatching a monitoring team to Ukraine would require parliamentary consent as a deployment, he responded, “According to the law, small-scale deployments can be decided by the minister,” specifying, “This does not mean there will be small-scale deployment but rather that the related regulations are in place.”
Regarding the criteria for what constitutes small-scale, he explained, “Considering the standard lines, issues of scale, duration, and mission could arise, and deployments that involve long-term combat missions or similar support missions with a set size have typically required parliamentary approval.”
Minister Kim stressed that “small groups of situation analysis teams and monitoring teams are not participating in combat but are preparing for the future.”
When asked if he discussed South Korea’s support for Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Minister Kim stated, “We shared ways to provide phased support among the possible measures mentioned earlier,” but did not specify what and when those would be provided.
When questioned about whether interpretation support for captured North Korean soldiers would constitute a deployment, he said, “We need to consider whether interpretation support constitutes deployment, but if North Korean soldiers surrender or are captured as prisoners, our help may be needed,” and added, “If humanitarian support is necessary, it should be considered. However, saying whether it can or cannot be done here is limited.”
Minister Kim criticized North Korea’s deployment as “mercenaries disguised as soldiers” in the process.