**”South Korea Should Evaluate the Situation Calmly and Refrain from Reckless Actions”**
**”Operations Should Primarily Follow Long-Term National Interests”**
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrey Rudenko, stated, “Supplying weapons to Ukraine will completely destroy the relationship between South Korea and Russia, and Russia will respond with all necessary means.”
Russia has warned South Korea, which is considering supplying weapons to Ukraine, to “wake up and not choose an extremely dangerous path.” The photo shows a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test-fired towards the Kamchatka Peninsula from the Plesetsk launch site in northwestern Russia on the 29th of last month (local time). Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense via AP/Newsis.
According to TASS news agency on the 24th, Deputy Minister Rudenko said in an interview that day, “South Korea should realize that the use of weapons to kill Russian citizens could completely destroy bilateral relations.” He emphasized, “We will respond with all methods deemed necessary,” while adding, “The possibility that South Korea itself will have enhanced security is low.”
He urged, “South Korea should evaluate the situation calmly and refrain from reckless actions.” He added, “I hope the South Korean government operates primarily based on long-term national interests, not short-term opportunistic considerations sparked from outside.”
Regarding the dispatch of North Korean troops to Ukraine, Deputy Minister Rudenko argued, “They are trying to increase pressure on North Korea and make South Korea an accomplice to Zelensky’s regime.”
He denied the participation of North Korean troops by stating, “South Korea, supported by like-minded individuals such as NATO, continues to artificially promote the topic of North Korean troops being in the special military operation zone to increase pressure on North Korea through close cooperation with NATO.”
He emphasized that the bilateral cooperation between Russia and North Korea is built in accordance with international law norms and is not aimed at third countries like South Korea.
He argued, “South Korea supplying weapons to Ukraine could lead to very negative consequences,” asserting, “It’s clear that the Ukraine conflict is unrelated to the Korean Peninsula.”
While reports continue that around 11,000 North Korean regular troops have already been deployed in the Ukrainian battlefield, RBC Ukraine reported on the 24th that 500 North Korean troops were killed while the Ukrainian army attacked Russia’s Kursk region using Storm Shadow cruise missiles provided by the UK.