South Korea considers all scenarios for aid to Kyiv

(Patria) - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, asked on Friday whether Seoul could send weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea's assistance to Russia, said that all scenarios are being considered.

He told a press conference in Ottawa that Seoul would monitor the level of involvement of North Korean troops in Russia and what Pyongyang received from Moscow in return, Reuters reported.

The United States said on Thursday it expects North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region to enter combat against Ukraine in the coming days.

Washington says there are 10,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia.

South Korea has provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, including mine-clearing equipment, but has so far resisted Kyiv's requests for weapons.

- All possible scenarios are being considered. Specifically, we will monitor the level of involvement of (North Korean) forces in the war and what the quid pro quo will be that North Korea receives from Russia. We will take all those (factors) into account before making concrete decisions - Cho said when asked whether Seoul would send weapons to Kyiv.

North Korea will likely receive compensation from Moscow in military and civilian technology, as it races to launch a spy satellite and upgrade its intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, a South Korean presidential official said on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with Cho and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday, said the two sides discussed a range of options for responding to North Korea's troop deployment, but did not provide details.