The government says it will reconsider providing weapons support to Ukraine after condemning North Korea and Russia’s move to boost their military and economic cooperation with the adoption of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. 

National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin revealed such a stance in a government statement released after he chaired a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday. 

His statement comes as Seoul has so far adhered to a stance of not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine. 

Chang said the government believes any type of cooperation that provides direct and indirect support to the North’s military buildup is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, stressing that such cooperation must be subject to the international community’s monitoring and sanctions.

He then warned that Russia jeopardizing South Korea’s security by violating the very same UNSC sanctions it had led against the North as a permanent council member and supporting Pyongyang will inevitably have a negative impact on Seoul-Moscow relations. 

Chang said the government will, together with the international community, firmly tackle any acts that threaten the nation’s security before vowing to further strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance for extended deterrence and security cooperation system among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo to neutralize the North’s nuclear weapons and missiles.