Putin says Russia may change its nuclear doctrine, warns South Korea not to aid Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was thinking about possible changes to its doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons.

Putin also said he did not rule out Russia supplying high-precision weapons to North Korea.

Putin said Moscow would respond to any such move by South Korea.

But he said Seoul had nothing to worry about when it came to the pact between Moscow and North Korea.

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Putin, Kim sign ‘strongest ever’ defence treaty amid growing tensions with the West

“South Korea, the Republic of Korea has nothing to worry about because our military assistance under the treaty we signed only arises if aggression is carried out against one of the signatories. As far as I know, the Republic of Korea is not planning aggression against the DPRK [North Korea],” Putin told reporters.

“We see what is happening in Asia: a bloc system is being put together,” Putin said.

“Nato is already ‘moving’ there [to Asia] as if to a permanent place of residence. This, of course, creates a threat to all countries in the region, including the Russian Federation. We are obliged to respond to this and will do it,” Putin said.

Hours after Putin signed the mutual defence pact, Washington announced that its top diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, would visit Vietnam on Friday and Saturday to stress Washington’s commitment to working with Hanoi to ensure a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.

Putin’s two-nation trip to Asia has been seen as a show of defiance to the West, and Vietnam’s hosting him had been sharply criticised by Washington, which said the Russian leader should not be given a stage on which to defend the war in Ukraine.

The White House national security spokesperson John Kirby was asked at a regular briefing if