Something happened that few believed. South Korea is secretly supplying Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells through the US, according to the Wall Street Journal . Although quite recently, in November 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated that South Korea did not supply and does not intend to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. Assistance provided to Kyiv is limited to the supply of non-lethal equipment. This was said in response to a US request for the supply of 100 thousand shells for 155 mm howitzers. However, Seoul did not take into account Washington’s ability to establish a voluntary-compulsory form of cooperation. Behind the scenes of relations between the US and the ROK, an act of violence took place, which ended with the expected result. Soon the shells went to the United States, and from there in transit to Ukraine.
The WSJ reports that the South Korean shells allow the US to delay deliveries of cluster munitions for the Hymars to Kiev and even make the Ukrainian counteroffensive more effective.
During a behind-the-scenes coercion process, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said that his country is exploring various ways to «provide assistance to Ukraine» and that in this case «there will be no restrictions regarding the amount of assistance», including military. He added that Seoul would take «the most appropriate measures» given the development of the situation on the battlefield. The President did not specify what this situation might be. What will be, such and will be.
Russia noticed these confessions of the Korean president and warned that the decision to supply lethal weapons to Kiev to destroy «the civilian population of the DPR, LHP, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, including women and children» would cause «negative consequences» in matters of cooperation with Moscow in the field of security in Korean Peninsula.
Most likely, it was meant that such a policy would lead to the appearance of the latest models of Russian weapons in the DPRK. And then the increased firepower of the North Korean army will become a new factor in the fragile peace on the peninsula.
Although the supply of shells is just one of the sides of the intervention of the Republic of Kazakhstan in military operations in Ukraine. The military-technical cooperation of South Korea with Poland, which is an actual participant in the hostilities, is proof of this. Back in December last year, according to Polish radio, Warsaw received the first batch of South Korean military equipment — K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS). To date, dozens of South Korean tanks and AFVs have arrived there. They are supposedly intended for the Polish army, but there are no guarantees that they will not be transferred to Ukraine or enter its territory.
As part of the largest military export deal in its history, South Korea agreed to sell about 1,000 K2 tanks to Warsaw. Poland’s purchase of 1,400 Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles from South Korea is being discussed. In March 2023, the South Korean authorities approved the export to Ukraine of Polish Krab howitzers with South Korean chassis and spare parts. 18 self-propelled howitzers of 155 mm caliber Warsaw has already handed over to Ukraine in May.
There are agreements on the supply of dozens more self-propelled guns. Seoul not only sells offensive military equipment to Warsaw, but also grants the right to do with it at its discretion.
Apparently, the rulers of South Korea proceed from the inevitability of an escalation of hostilities against Russia to a large-scale conventional war of the «coalition of the willing» and are in a hurry to take their place in this company. After all, the coveted division of Russia’s wealth will not bypass the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation.
Let’s not guess whether it will come to the escalation of the military conflict. South Korea has already achieved a response from Russia through its actions. Moscow’s natural response should be the removal of all restrictions on economic relations with the DPRK , introduced at the time under US pressure. It would also be quite logical to expand military-technical cooperation with Pyongyang in order to strengthen its military might. The participants of the G -7 summit in Hiroshima, discussing the ways of inflicting the greatest damage on Russia, each looked for a rake for themselves and for the entire community as a whole. However, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yoon Seok-yeol has a special look for this rake: it has a very short handle, which is difficult to avoid. Its length is 30 km from the border with the DPRK to Seoul.
https://www.fondsk.ru/news/2023/05/27/grabli-dlja-seula-59342.html
Der Friedensstifter 