Birmingham, According to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, North Korea is preparing to send as many as 50,000 fresh troops to support Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. it has not fallen on deaf ears in Seoul While the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been unable to verify Zelenskyy’s claim.
As North Korea strengthens, Seoul is learning that its own security policy can no longer be built around the assumption that US weapons will be available in the event of conflict with the north. But the broader warning for Seoul is real: it must prepare for a stronger north in a world where even the largest military arsenals are not always enough to achieve policy goals. FHK
When questioned on August 10, an unnamed foreign-ministry spokesperson stated: North Korea-Russia military cooperation is a matter directly related to our security and an act that violates UN Security Council resolutions … the government’s position is that such cooperation must be suspended immediately, and we are closely monitoring related developments. This position has been made clear by the South Korean president, Lee Jae-Myung, since 2025. Rather than becoming involved in a distant war in Europe, Lee has focused his foreign policy on the Korean peninsula most recently calling for talks with the north to pursue peaceful coexistence on August 15. Earlier in 2026, as the US burned through its missile stockpile in Iran, Washington and Seoul discussed the possibility of moving some of the US Patriot defence missile systems based in Korea to the Middle East. Whether or not the 50,000 extra North Korean troops materialise remains to be seen.
In a social media post on August 16, Donald Trump said the US would “substantially reduce” its joint military exercises with South Korea. He cited South Korea’s refusal to join the Iran war, as well as his own “very good” personal relationship with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong un, as the reasons for doing so.
