Recriminations fly in Seoul over a potential Ukraine military mission

​South Korean military soldiers parade during the 75th South Korea Armed Forces Day ceremony at Sejong-daero in Seoul, South Korea, September 26, 2023.
South Korean military soldiers parade during the 75th South Korea Armed Forces Day ceremony at Sejong-daero in Seoul, South Korea, September 26, 2023.
Matrix Images/Lee Kitae

South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party threatened to impeach the government’s defense minister if the ruling People Power Party went ahead with proposed plans to dispatch military monitors to Ukraine. President Yoon Suk Yeol would like military and intelligence officers to study North Korean battlefield tactics – Pyongyang has 3,000 soldiers close to the frontlines in western Russia – as they engage Ukrainian troops, but the DP says such a deployment would violate South Korea’s constitution.

Yoon has to tread carefully: He doesn’t control the unicameral legislature, and Article 60 of the constitution clearly requires legislative approval for overseas troop deployments. Calling the troops monitors or observers won’t be enough to satisfy the opposition, and risking an impeachment of his cabinet officials is a bridge too far for Yoon, says Eurasia Group expert Jeremy Chan.

“Yoon is speaking loudly and carrying a toothpick,” Chan says, explaining that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin already saw this play from Yoon in June, when they met in Pyongyang. When South Korea threatened to start arming Ukraine directly but then did nothing, “they realized in Pyongyang and Moscow that this guy’s a paper tiger.”

Will there be consequences for Kim? It’s not looking likely. With South Korea divided domestically on a response, and the US unwilling to, for example, remove limits on Ukraine striking deep into Russia, both Pyongyang and Moscow seem to be able to act with some impunity. We’re watching how far Kim can press his luck.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

In a conversation with Ian Bremmer at the 2024 GZERO Summit Japan, United States ambassador Rahm Emanuel attributes the erosion of trust in American democracy and its government to a lack of accountability for major events like the Iraq War and the financial crisis. He points out that while local governments function more efficiently, national leadership has failed to provide necessary accountability, leading to a crisis of faith that must be addressed to restore confidence in the system.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S., October 30, 2024.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Donald Trump on Wednesday held a news conference from his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he hammered Joe Biden for calling Trump’s supporters “garbage” in response to racist comments made at the rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Refugee women stand in the Gorom refugee settlement during Foreign Minister Baerbock's visit.
Michael Kappeler/dpa via Reuters Connect

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan has just issued a new report accusing the Rapid Support Forces militia of using sexual violence to control civilians in their territory.