Asia
South Korea considers arming Ukraine amid North Korean troop deployment
South Korea’s conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, is considering direct arms supplies to Ukraine in response to North Korea’s deployment of troops on Russia’s front line.
Seoul has so far resisted calls from its Western allies to use its substantial stockpile of military hardware, preferring to provide only non-lethal aid to Kyiv. However, analysts and diplomats suggest that North Korea’s deployment of troops in the Kursk region of western Russia, reportedly as many as 8,000 according to U.S. officials on Thursday, is shifting South Korea’s stance.
Yoon and other senior officials in Seoul describe Pyongyang’s involvement in the conflict as a threat to South Korea’s security, noting the “valuable experience” North Korean troops could gain on the battlefield. They also worry that Moscow may share advanced military technology with Pyongyang in return for its support.
In response to the deployment, Yoon vowed not to “sit idly by.” His office confirmed this week that Seoul intends to send a delegation to Ukraine to monitor North Korean forces, following a phone call between Yoon and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
However, the prospect of arming Ukraine faces strong opposition from South Korea’s left-wing opposition, which holds a parliamentary majority. The opposition argues that Yoon’s hardline stance toward North Korea has pushed Pyongyang closer to Moscow.
“Arming Ukraine is an extremely dangerous idea that treats people’s lives like pawns in a chess game,” said Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae at a recent rally organized by her party. She argued that South Korea has no direct stake in the outcome of the war. Park added that Yoon “should not involve South Korea in a proxy war with North Korea in a distant country,” warning that increased involvement could “risk triggering a military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.”
“The South Korean government is caught between foreign partners urging it to do more and an opposition calling for restraint,” said Jeongmin Kim, a senior analyst at Seoul-based information service Korea Pro.
South Korea’s decades of preparation for potential conflict with North Korea, along with its formidable defense industry, have resulted in a vast stockpile of weapons, including artillery shells, tanks, howitzers, and surface-to-surface missiles. As a close ally of the United States, South Korea frequently attends NATO summits and supplies many NATO members. Analysts note that South Korea’s weaponry would be largely compatible with equipment already used by Ukraine’s armed forces.
“South Korea’s support for Ukraine could change the course of the entire conflict,” said Henry Haggard, a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors and former counselor for political affairs at the U.S. embassy in Seoul from 2021 to 2023. “Not only do Korean companies produce world-class weapons tailored for Ukraine’s needs, but they also have the manufacturing capacity to deliver essential arms at a pace that could make a difference when needed most,” he told the Financial Times.
South Korea has indirectly supported Ukraine by replenishing U.S. stocks of 155mm artillery shells. According to Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korea expert at King’s College London, South Korea is providing more shells to Ukraine, albeit through third countries, than all European countries combined.
Zelensky stated on Thursday that he had sent a representative to Seoul to make “detailed” requests for artillery and air defense systems in response to North Korea’s deployment to Russia.
However, Seoul has thus far refused to provide direct lethal assistance, citing the country’s Foreign Trade Act, which restricts arms exports “other than for peaceful purposes.”
An implicit understanding exists between Seoul and Moscow that South Korea will avoid sending lethal aid to Ukraine, while Russia will limit support to North Korea. But Pacheco Pardo noted that this understanding “has now come to an end.” He added, “I think the Yoon administration will provide lethal assistance to Ukraine if it has evidence that Russia is increasing support for North Korea, especially with technologies that could enhance Pyongyang’s missile, satellite, and other high-tech programs.”
On Wednesday, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, during a meeting in Washington with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, remarked that it was “highly likely” North Korea was seeking Russian defense technology in exchange for troop deployments.
A European diplomat based in Seoul remarked that the South Korean government’s stance on arms procurement has “shifted” since the North Korean deployment, though it remains “very, very cautious.” The diplomat suggested that Seoul might wait for the U.S. presidential election’s outcome before making further decisions.
Jeongmin Kim noted that the Yoon administration may argue that providing lethal aid does not require parliamentary approval and would not violate the Foreign Trade Act, asserting that arming Ukraine would contribute to international peace by hastening the end of the war.
Such a decision, however, may face public opposition. According to a Gallup Korea poll conducted shortly after North Korean troops were reported in Russia, only 13% of South Koreans surveyed supported military assistance to Ukraine, while 66% favored limiting aid to non-military and humanitarian support.
Beijing said it had conducted law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan in response to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to launch talks on maritime boundary delimitation.
According to a statement from the China Coast Guard, a flotilla led by the vessel Daishan carried out law enforcement patrols “in accordance with the law” on Monday.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the operation was “a necessary action” in response to Japan and the Philippines “unilaterally announcing the start of negotiations on maritime delimitation in waters east of China’s Taiwan Island.”
“Such an announcement seriously infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and its maritime rights and interests,” Jiang said.
“We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that violate China’s sovereignty and rights,” he added.
Jiang also said the coast guard would continue strengthening its control and management of the relevant waters and that China would take concrete measures to “resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
The United States and most of its allies, including Japan and the Philippines, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state and acknowledge it as part of China. The United Nations has also adopted resolutions reflecting this position. However, Washington continues to provide arms to Taiwan as part of its broader efforts to counter China and encourages its allies to do the same.
Following a summit in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two countries said in a joint statement issued on Thursday that they had agreed to begin “formal negotiations” to delimit their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves.
Beijing condemned the planned talks as “completely illegal and invalid” and swiftly lodged formal diplomatic protests with both Tokyo and Manila.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday: “The so-called delimitation negotiations are entirely illegal, invalid and void. They will have no impact whatsoever on China’s claims or on China’s exercise of its legitimate rights in the area east of Taiwan Island.”
The latest escalation comes at a time when relations between Beijing and both Tokyo and Manila are already strained. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, while China remains engaged in separate territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
As US attention and resources have increasingly shifted toward the war involving Iran, and as the White House has made the Western Hemisphere a strategic priority, Japan and the Philippines have stepped up diplomatic engagement in the region commonly referred to as the Indo-Pacific.
That effort has included building closer security and defence ties with other countries, prompting Beijing to accuse them of encouraging bloc confrontation in the region.
Japan and the Philippines do not share a maritime boundary. However, their seabed claims could overlap because both countries seek to extend their legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles, equivalent to 370 kilometres or 230 miles.
The overlapping area lies east of Taiwan, southwest of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and north of the Philippines’ Batanes Islands.
Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s highest-ranking state-affiliated think tank, said Taiwan’s EEZ and continental shelf are part of the area under discussion.
“These are China’s rights and are not something that the two sides can negotiate among themselves,” Yang said.
In an interview published on Sunday by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, before the China Coast Guard announced the patrols, Yang said Beijing would take “historic and unprecedented” countermeasures against Tokyo and Manila.
“Since they are negotiating in a three-party overlapping zone, we can also take further steps to advance our jurisdiction in the waters east of Taiwan,” Yang said.
“If the other side insists on reckless and destructive actions, we will inevitably introduce new countermeasures.”
Yang described the waters east of Taiwan as a vital maritime area for the island’s economic activities.
“If these waters are divided between Japan and the Philippines, that would clearly harm the interests of the people living on Taiwan Island,” he added.
As artificial intelligence reshapes industrial structures in Japan and South Korea, stock market rankings are being redrawn. SoftBank Group has overtaken Toyota Motor to become Japan’s most valuable listed company.
SoftBank shares have surged as the global artificial intelligence rally gathers momentum, lifting the technology conglomerate’s market capitalisation above that of Toyota for the first time in more than two decades.
The shift reflects a broader reordering of Japan’s equity market. Automakers, alongside banks, steelmakers, energy companies and other traditional heavy industries, are losing ground to chipmakers and companies linked to artificial intelligence.
SoftBank shares jumped 14% on Monday, reaching a new record high. The company’s market value climbed to 48 trillion yen, or $301 billion, making it the most valuable company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Toyota had long held the top position, with a market capitalisation of approximately 45 trillion yen. The last time SoftBank surpassed Toyota was in March 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble.
SoftBank’s rapid rise has been driven by strong earnings performance and its substantial investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
The Japanese company reported net profit of 1.82 trillion yen, or $11.4 billion, for the first three months of 2026, 3.5 times higher than in the same period a year earlier. The group is also increasing its investment in OpenAI, completing a $10 billion investment in April and committing to invest an additional $20 billion later this year. Total investment is expected to reach roughly $65 billion.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI plans to file for an initial public offering and aims to list in the United States as early as September. Some media reports suggest the company could seek to raise $60 billion through the offering, potentially valuing it at more than $1 trillion. Such a transaction could become the largest initial public offering in history.
Investors expect the IPO to significantly boost SoftBank’s investment gains. Those expectations have helped drive the technology group’s share price higher. SoftBank shares have risen about 127% since early April.
The company is also planning to invest up to 14 trillion yen in the construction of data centres in France.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing, where the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and oversaw the signing of multiple cooperation agreements. Xi also awarded Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The two leaders then proceeded to formal talks. Xi said China and Serbia had achieved “positive results” since jointly launching the construction of a “China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era” in 2024.
Xi said the partnership had not only benefited the two peoples but had also set an example for international relations.
The Chinese president described relations between China and Serbia as an “iron friendship” based on deep historical ties and mutual trust.
Calling on both sides to strengthen exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests, Xi also said the two countries should align their development strategies and advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. In this context, he pointed to transport, energy and infrastructure projects.
Xi also called for expanding cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy and advanced manufacturing.
Aleksandar Vucic congratulated China on the start of implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Vucic also expressed confidence in China’s future development under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The Serbian president said Belgrade attached great importance to relations with China and firmly supported Beijing on issues concerning China’s core interests.
Vucic thanked Chinese companies for their contributions to Serbia’s economic development and infrastructure construction.
Saying the two countries had made notable progress since establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership, Vucic added that cooperation had expanded across numerous sectors.
The Serbian president also praised China’s role in international affairs, saying Beijing approached smaller countries on the basis of equality and respect and defended international law.
Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements covering politics, trade, science and technology, education, legal affairs and culture.
The two sides also issued joint statements on steadily advancing the construction of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era and jointly supporting the implementation of four global initiatives.
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