Korea stands ready to cooperate with allies over Ukraine crisis

Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook poses alongside French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly with a fist bump in Paris, following their talks on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Korea is eyeing the building crisis over Russia's military build-up near Ukraine and stands ready to cooperate with its allies, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Monday.

Moon Hong-sik, a deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said at a regular briefing on Tuesday that Korea “is maintaining close cooperation with relevant countries while closely watching new developments related to the recent Ukraine crisis.”

The governments of Europe and the United States have issued warnings to Russia in recent weeks as the country amasses troops on its border with Ukraine and in neighboring Belarus, with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden promising severe sanctions if Russia attempts an invasion.

The announcement that Korea is paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine follows a visit by Defense Minister Suh Wook to France on Monday for a meeting with his French counterpart, Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, to discuss continued cooperation between Korea and France with regards to tensions in Ukraine.

At the meeting, Parly noted France has maintained a long-standing mission to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and said she hopes to strengthen security cooperation with Korea, according to the Defense Ministry.

The French Armed Forces minister also shared with Suh her country’s intelligence on recent developments in Ukraine, explaining that France has led consultations with Russia as a key member of the European Union and NATO.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, France is also committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Parly told Suh.

The mutual promises of bilateral cooperation between Korea and France in their respective regions come as Seoul braces itself for an economic and security fallout from the crisis in Ukraine.

Comments by Biden that the United States will pursue deterrence in tandem with allies has sparked speculation that the United States could request its key allies outside Europe, such as Korea and Japan, to support a joint response to a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When asked specifically about a Korean military role in such a response at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense John Kirby said that while the nature of a “tangible” role was something for Seoul to decide, he was certain Kyiv would “welcome” such involvement.

However, Kirby added that such a choice would be a “sovereign decision that each nation state has to make for themselves,” and that he would not want to “get ahead” of the Korean government on its response to the Ukrainian crisis.

That sentiment was echoed by Mark Lambert, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, who said he would “leave [a decision] to the leadership at Blue House … specific things the Republic of Korea or Japan wishes to do in response to something that we're all hoping doesn't take place.”

Lambert added that the situation in Ukraine was a “key topic” of trilateral discussions in Honolulu between Seoul’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Antony Blinken and Yoshimasa Hayashi, this past weekend.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]