North Korea has said that it is not providing military assistance to Russia for the war against Ukraine and Iran has claimed that they weren’t, but have now admitted to supplying a “limited number” (aren’t all finite numbers limited?) to Russia, but claim they won’t supply them with missiles.
The US intends to buy 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from South Korean arms manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, a US official said, as part of a broader effort to find available weaponry for the high-intensity battles unfolding in Ukraine.
As part of the deal, the US will purchase 100,000 rounds of 155mm howitzer ammunition, which will then be transferred to Ukraine through the US.
The arrangement allows South Korea to stick to its public pledge that it would not send lethal aid to Ukraine. In a statement issued Friday morning, the South Korean Defense Ministry said it had not changed its position on shipping weapons to Ukraine, and that it believed the “end user” of the ammunition is the United States.
But statements from South Korea and the US make clear that the deal, which has been in the works for months, has not yet been finalized. The purchase of such a large supply of artillery ammunition is highly sensitive for South Korea, especially given the recent missile launches and weapon tests conducted by North Korea. Seoul has so far publicly refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine, only delivering non-lethal and humanitarian aid, such as medical supplies and bulletproof vests.
South Korea is not the only country to limit its assistance to Ukraine to non-aggressive types. Notably, after public threats from Putin, Israel has offered Ukraine assistance in systems to detect attack by aircraft and drones, but not the requested anti-aircraft weapons. The world’s nations are all being especially careful not to become directly embroiled on one side or the other of this mele.
The intended transfers from both Pyongyang and Seoul highlight the pressure the war has put on the defense industrial bases of US and Russia.
Jeff