Russia has warned it will take retaliatory measures if South Korea joins the "Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List" (PURL), a NATO program that supplies Ukraine with United States weapons funded by European countries.

According to Russia's state-run Tass news agency, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday that if Seoul participates in NATO's PURL program, Moscow would have no choice but to exercise its right to respond, including through asymmetric measures.

Zakharova said any form of South Korean involvement in supplying such materials would only delay prospects for resolving the war in Ukraine and would undoubtedly cause irreversible damage to Russia-South Korea relations, undermining efforts to restore constructive dialogue on the Korean Peninsula.

She added that Moscow values the approach South Korea has taken so far, calling it an essential foundation for preventing further deterioration in bilateral ties and for restoring dialogue and cooperation in the future.

A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said Friday that Seoul has been in consultations with NATO on various forms of support for Ukraine and that participation in the PURL, established in July last year, is among the options under review.

Under the program, NATO member states fund the purchase of U.S. weapons for Ukraine. South Korea is reportedly considering limiting its contribution to nonlethal equipment even if it decides to take part.