"'Weak country' Russia imposing economic sanctions on powerful Korea? Strange talk"

President Yoon Suk-yeol opened the possibility of providing lethal weapons to Ukraine on a 'conditional' basis in an interview with Reuters, amid expectations of retaliatory measures from Russia. Kim Hyun-wook, head of the Americas Research Department at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, assessed that Russia's sanctions and other measures are "obstacles that can be overcome."

On the 20th, on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Kim said regarding the possibility of Russian economic sanctions, "Considering the economy and population, Korea is the stronger power. It sounds a bit strange to me that Russia would impose economic sanctions on Korea."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "(Russian sanctions) sound like a weak country sanctioning a strong country," and said, "For Korea to become a responsible strong power in the international community, I think these are obstacles that we can sufficiently overcome."

There is also analysis that Russia might retaliate by supporting North Korea's weapons development technology. Regarding this, Kim said, "In the current situation where North Korea is not engaging in denuclearization talks with Korea and continues military provocations, whether Russia provides military technology support to North Korea or not does not change the outline or situation on the Korean Peninsula."

In response to the host's question about whether weapons support to Ukraine might distance relations with Russia and China, he said, "China's position on the Russia-Ukraine war is quite ambiguous," adding, "With the whole world sanctioning Russia, China is unable to readily provide military support to Russia, and it is not accurate to lump Russia and China together as one."

Regarding the government's shift from its previous stance of 'no lethal weapons support,' Kim analyzed that it reflects consideration of the government's status. He said, "The government stated it would provide weapons support only in cases of genocide, large-scale civilian attacks, or serious violations of the laws of war, and many of these have already occurred in the war," adding, "From Korea's perspective, it cannot overlook Russia's ruthless war, especially since the Korean government is a strong power ranked within the top 10 economies by GDP and positions itself as a global pivotal state."

Some have pointed out this as a 'sudden shift' ahead of the South Korea-U.S. summit. In response, Kim said, "The issues at the South Korea-U.S. summit include extended deterrence, economic security, and social exchanges between the two countries, with the core being the strengthening of extended deterrence," adding, "Rather than seeing the weapons support as a concession to obtain this, the weapons support was already underway. Indirectly, weapons support had already been provided to Ukraine, including through Poland."