The ROK should be selling their advanced weaponry to Ukraine as a major export to help drive the Korean economy. With Poland and Romania buying ROK equipment as well, Ukraine would have allies next door with compatible capabilities:

The South Korean government said Thursday it will reconsider its stance on arms supply to Ukraine after North Korea and Russia signed a treaty that involves a mutual pledge to provide immediate military assistance if one of them is attacked.

National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin also condemned “the comprehensive strategic treaty” signed during the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Wednesday. (…..)

Chang said any cooperation that directly or indirectly aids North Korea’s military enhancement is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and will be subject to international scrutiny and sanctions, and vowed to take corresponding measures. 

“We plan to reconsider the issue of arms support to Ukraine,” Chang also said, suggesting a shift in South Korea’s policy of not providing lethal aid to Ukraine.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I feel bad for SSG Black’s family, but as the saying goes play stupid games, win stupid prizes and he got quite the prize:

A court in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Wednesday convicted a visiting American soldier of stealing and making threats of murder, and it sentenced him to three years and nine months in prison. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, flew to the Pacific port city to see his girlfriend and was arrested last month after she accused him of stealing from her, according to U.S. officials and Russian authorities.

Russia’s state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti reported that the judge in Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok also ordered Black to pay 10,000 rubles ($115) in damages. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of four years and eight months in prison.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The Chinese are significantly escalating their provocations against the Philippines military as they try and resupply troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal:

The Philippines military chief demanded Wednesday that China return several rifles and equipment seized by the Chinese coast guard in a disputed shoal and pay for damage in an assault he likened to an act of piracy in the South China Sea. Chinese personnel on board more than eight motorboats repeatedly rammed then boarded the two Philippine navy inflatable boats Monday to prevent Filipino navy personnel from transferring food and other supplies including firearms to a Philippine territorial outpost in Second Thomas Shoal, which is also claimed by Beijing, according to Philippine officials.

After a scuffle and repeated collisions, the Chinese seized the boats and damaged them with machetes, knives and hammers. They also seized eight M4 rifles, which were packed in cases, navigation equipment and other supplies and wounded a number of Filipino navy personnel, including one who lost his right thumb, two Philippine security officials told The Associated on Tuesday. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the sensitive conflict publicly.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but it is easy to imagine how this can escalate because the Philippines military next time will probably come in more forcibly to defend their resupply boats against the Chinese piracy.

Continued Russian aggression has been good for South Korea’s defense industry:

Romania has confirmed its plan to buy South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers for US$920 million, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in another boost for Seoul’s drive to clinch more arms export deals.

Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar announced the decision during talks in Romania with Seoul’s defense chief Shin Won-sik, who is on a weeklong trip to Eastern Europe that will also take him to Poland, according to the ministry.

Shin thanked Tilvar for the decision and anticipated the deal — the biggest in Romania’s arms acquisition over the past seven years — will further activate defense and arms cooperation between the two countries.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Putin and Kim are now BFF’s:

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty calling for mutual assistance if either is attacked Wednesday as they held summit talks in Pyongyang.

Putin also said Russia does not rule out military and technical cooperation with North Korea in line with the partnership treaty, fueling concern the two countries could further deepen their already serious military cooperation, including in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“The treaty on comprehensive partnership signed today provides for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty,” Putin said after summit talks with Kim, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Putin hailed the treaty as a “truly groundbreaking document” that “reflects the desire of the two countries not to rest on their laurels, but to bring our relations to a new qualitative level,” according to TASS. (……)

Kim declared that the North’s relations Russia have been upgraded to the level of alliance. (….)

Kim expressed “full support” Wednesday for Russia’s war in Ukraine and pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation, according to TASS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is how a future conflict with China could get started by a nation in the South China Sea sinking a Chinese ship and facing retaliation that draws the U.S. into the conflict:

Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre is seen at the Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, at the South China Sea, April 23, 2023. A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, June 17, 2024, China’s coast guard said. (Aaron Favila/AP)

A Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday, China’s coast guard said, in the latest flare-up of escalating territorial disputes that have sparked alarm. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, part of a territory claimed by several nations. The Philippines says the shoal falls within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone and often cites a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China’s expansive South China Sea claims based on historical grounds.

The Chinese coast guard said the Philippine craft “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings … and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.” “The Philippines is entirely responsible for this,” the coast guard said in its statement on the social media platform WeChat. Meanwhile, the Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading,” and said it would “not discuss operational details on the legal humanitarian rotation and resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal, which is well within our exclusive economic zone.”

It used the Philippine name for the shoal, where Filipino navy personnel have transported food, medicine and other supplies to a long-grounded warship that has served as Manila’s territorial outpost.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.