South Korea given prior notice by U.S. on decision to let Ukraine use long-range missiles against Russia: Presidential office

Home > National > Diplomacy

South Korea given prior notice by U.S. on decision to let Ukraine use long-range missiles against Russia: Presidential office

Published: 19 Nov. 2024, 10:49 Updated: 19 Nov. 2024, 18:25

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks at a session of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The U.S. government informed the South Korean government in advance of its decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, Seoul's presidential office said.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently authorized the first such use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, by Ukrainians, according to U.S. media reports, likely in response to North Korean troops joining Russia's war on Ukraine.

When asked whether Washington had shared information ahead of its authorization for the use of the missile system, a senior presidential official told reporters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, "If the United States makes a decision, there is no need for our country to directly partake in the matter, so we have been notified of the U.S. decision."

The official, however, said that South Korea has made no decision regarding providing arms to Ukraine.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has hinted that Seoul could consider the possibility depending on the development of military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.

South Korea, in principle, doesn't supply lethal weapons to countries at war but has shown a shifting stance in recent weeks. Yoon, in a press conference on Oct. 24, said that Seoul could consider a phased response correlating to the level of the evolving military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including reviewing the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

"South Korea and the United States, as an alliance, can exchange necessary weapons if needed," the presidential official said, but "no decisions have been made regarding Ukraine, nor have detailed discussions begun."

The presidential official stressed, "If Russia and North Korea ignore the international community's recommendations and do not stop cooperating on the Ukraine war, it may be necessary to supplement Ukraine's ability to defend itself."

The official added that NATO, the United States and South Korea, as a U.S. ally, "must also pay more attention to this issue in the future."

Yoon also condemned the "illegal" military cooperation between North Korea and Russia at the Group of 20 (G20) summit Monday, the presidential office said.

The G20 summit was a venue for global leaders to urge Pyongyang and Moscow to comply with their obligations under international law and warn against the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war on Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't attend this year's G20 summit.

The New York Times reported Sunday that the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied ATACMS for attacks inside Russia, citing U.S. officials, with the missiles likely to be used in Russia's front-line Kursk region in defense of Ukrainian forces, marking a significant shift in American policy ahead of the onset of the Donald Trump administration in January.

The United States and South Korean troops fire the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Seoul's Hyunmoo Missile II into the East Sea in 2017 in a file photo provided by the 8th United States Army. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, fueled by solid rocket propellant, are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and have a range of approximately 300 kilometers.

After the initial media reports on the authorization, the United States and Ukraine strategically continued to officially maintain a "neither confirm nor deny" stance. Thus, South Korea appears to have become the first to officially confirm the U.S. decision.

Analysts have noted that the United States and Ukraine may be reluctant to officially confirm the reports over concerns that a hasty announcement in a time of war, especially regarding the sensitivity of such military intelligence, could provide justification for Russia's actions.

When asked to confirm the United States' stance on Ukraine's use of its long-range missiles, Matthew Miller, U.S. State Department spokesperson, said in a press briefing in Washington Monday, "I'm not going to speak to or confirm any policy changes," adding that "it has been Russia that has escalated the conflict time and time again."

Likewise, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only said in an address Sunday that "such things are not announced" regarding the reports of the ATACMS decision, despite having appealed for such advanced weaponry for months, vowing that "the missiles will speak for themselves."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday warned that the outgoing Biden administration is "adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict" regarding the reported decision to allow Ukrainians to launch strikes inside Russia.

Update, Nov. 19: Background information, U.S., Ukrainian and Russian positions added.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]