South Korea risks ‘crossfire’ by partnering Nato amid Ukraine war, US-China rivalry

At the summit, Stoltenberg said Nato would enhance cooperation in “flagship projects” on Ukraine and new technologies, and discuss defence industry partnerships with South Korea, the Yonhap news agency said.

Kim Joon-hyung, a security analyst who served as a former South Korean government adviser, warned on Thursday that South Korea could face pressure from Nato members to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine directly and risk turning Russia into an arch-enemy on top of nuclear-armed North Korea.

South Korea has a long-standing policy of not providing lethal weapons directly to any country at war. It reportedly supplied munitions to Ukraine last year via the US in accordance with the policy.

President Yoon Suk-yeol this week threatened to ditch the policy and supply weapons directly to Ukraine, depending on the nature of a new military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang.

“South Korea is… capable of producing conventional weapons massively and keeping vast stockpiles of munitions,” Kim told This Week in Asia.

“By actively taking part in the Nato-IP4 meeting, President Yoon could expose the country to collective pressures to supply weapons directly to Ukraine,” said Kim, an opposition lawmaker and a former head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

“If this trend continues, South Korea, due to its geographic and strategic positions, would find itself becoming like a frontline soldier caught in a crossfire,” Kim added.

Chang Yong-Seok, a senior researcher at the Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification, said the Nato-IP4 meeting represented “a significant step” in the bloc’s efforts to reach out to the Indo-Pacific region to deter China.

“But this move could only push China, which is still hesitant to join the