Putin suggests that Russia may deliver weapons to North Korea

His remarks come after South Korea announced that it may explore delivering arms to Ukraine after Russia and North Korea inked a mutual defense treaty. President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia may give weapons to North Korea in a retaliatory response to the Western arming of Ukraine. Putin spoke to reporters in Vietnam on Thursday, a day after visiting nuclear-armed North Korea and signing a mutual defense agreement with its leader, Kim Jong Un.

Western countries have shunned North Korea for developing nuclear and ballistic missiles in defiance of UN sanctions, and they are concerned about the strengthening connections between Moscow and Pyongyang. Putin said earlier this month that Russia would give arms to Western rivals since the West was arming Ukraine with high-precision weapons and allowing it to fire them at targets within Russia.

In his most recent comments, he stated that North Korea could be one of the recipients of Russian armaments. "I stated, including in Pyongyang, that we will reserve the right to supply weapons to other parts of the world. "Taking into account our agreements with [North Korea], I do not rule this out," he said.

The contract, signed on Wednesday by Putin and Kim, pledges each side to providing quick military assistance to the other in the case of armed action against either. Putin stated that Moscow anticipated its collaboration with North Korea to serve as a deterrence to the West, but that there was no need for North Korean forces to fight in Ukraine. "Regarding the possibility of somehow using each other's capabilities in the conflict in Ukraine, we are not asking anyone for this, no one has offered us this, therefore there is no need," declared him.

The US and Ukraine claim North Korea has already provided Russia with considerable amounts of artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles, which Moscow and Pyongyang deny. Putin stated that South Korea would be making "a big mistake" if it opted to give armaments to Ukraine, and that Moscow would retaliate in a way that would be painful for Seoul. The words came after South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Seoul might consider delivering weapons to Ukraine in light of the mutual defense treaty struck by Putin and Kim the day before.

"Sending lethal weapons to Ukraine's combat zones would be a huge mistake." "I hope this does not happen," Putin stated. "If it will, then we will take the according decision that the current South Korean leadership will probably not like." South Korea has experienced significant increase in worldwide military sales in recent years. However, it has a long-standing policy of prohibiting weapons sales into active combat zones, which it has maintained despite US and Ukrainian pressure to rethink. There is still disagreement over how substantial a security commitment the Russia-North Korea accord includes. While some observers regard the agreement as a complete restoration of the countries' Cold War-era partnership, others believe it is more symbolic than meaningful.

Ankit Panda, a senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that the phrase looked to be deliberately crafted so as not to imply automated military invention. However, "the big picture here is that both sides are willing to put down on paper, and show the world, just how widely they intend to expand the scope of their cooperation" , according to him. In his remarks to reporters in Hanoi, Putin expounded on statements he made earlier this month about nuclear weapons, saying Moscow was considering changes to its philosophy on their use.

Putin stated that this was motivated by changing attitudes about nuclear use among Russia's rivals. Russia's current strategy stipulates that it may deploy nuclear weapons in reaction to a nuclear assault or a conventional attack that poses an existential danger to the country. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, some hawks among Russian military strategists have argued that Moscow should reconsider its attitude and possibly launch a nuclear strike to "sober up" its Western opponents. Putin told reporters that Russia was considering revising its policy because possible adversaries were developing "new elements" aimed at reducing the threshold for nuclear use.

"In particular, explosive nuclear weapons with extremely low power are being created. And we are aware that such means of destruction are being discussed in professional circles in the West," he added.

Putin stated that there was "nothing particularly terrible" about this, but Russia should pay attention to it. Since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which he describes as a special military operation to ensure Russia's own security, Putin has frequently spoken about the size and potency of Russia's nuclear arsenal, warning the West that if it delves deeper into the conflict, it risks a global conflict.