Russia’s Medvedev threatens to arm North Korea if South Korea arms Ukraine

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Russian Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Wednesday threatened to arm North Korea if South Korea agrees to provide lethal aid to Ukraine. 

Medvedev’s comments came after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol suggested that the Asian nation might be open to providing more than just economic and humanitarian aid to Kyiv after refusing to do so for more than a year following Russia’s February 2022 invasion. 

"I wonder what the inhabitants of this country will say when they see the latest samples of Russian weapons from their closest neighbors - our partners from the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] DPRK?" Medvedev, who once served as the president of Russia, questioned. 

Russia's then-President Dmitry Medvedev arrives in Seoul on March 26, 2012, to take part the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. Medvedev this week threatened that Moscow may arm North Korea is South Korea begins supplying lethal aid to Ukraine. (Photo credit should read YEKATERINA SHTUKINA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Moscow has looked to North Korea for months to help it fuel its continuing war in Ukraine, and last month, the White House said it had knowledge that Russia was offering food supplies to Pyongyang in exchange for weapons and munitions. 

It is unclear whether Russia is in a position to be arming other nations as it struggles to supply its own troops in Ukraine with sufficient weaponry, but Medvedev – who has become notorious for his outlandish comments since the invasion began – said providing North Korea with arms would be considered "quid pro quo."

Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby speaks as a picture shows Russian rail cars in North Korea during a White House daily news briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Jan. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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South Korea has not made any official moves to send lethal aid to Ukraine, though Yoon told Reuters Wednesday that Seoul was exploring options on how to help Kyiv defend itself and rebuild – just as it received international aid during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," the South Korean president said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the position was "unfortunate" and accused Seoul of taking an "unfriendly" position against Russia. 

United States Marines take part in an annual KOR-USA combine military drill near Yeongil Bay in Pohang, South Korea on Aug. 12, 2021. North Korea's top envoy in Russia has called for the U.S. troops' withdrawal from South Korea and called the allies' joint military exercise a ''war rehearsal,'' a Russian news agency said Thursday. (Photo by Seung-il Ryu/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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"They will try to draw more and more countries directly into this conflict. But of course, the start of arms deliveries will obliquely mean a certain stage of involvement in this conflict," he added according to Reuters.

Yoon is set to meet with President Biden next week as the U.S. and South Korea increasingly bolster ties amid ongoing aggression from Russia and China.