Seoul is sitting on one of the world's biggest ammunition stockpiles but is reluctant to give it away.
Seoul correspondent
It is this rationale which led him to the battlefield in Ukraine, where he served on the front line for four months alongside the Ukrainian army, as an anti-drone gunner and combat medic for the 3rd Battalion of the International Legion. Not only this, but with its flourishing defence industry, it is turning out tanks and other weapons at a speed that countries in Europe can only dream of.
Publicly politicians have been able to hide behind a long-standing policy of not arming countries in conflict, but privately many worry about antagonising Russia. Before the war, in 2021, the two countries conducted $27bn worth of annual trade. Seoul also hopes, somewhat wishfully, that Russia might be able to keep North Korea in check.
"It is difficult for the South Korean government to argue that the country's lethal weapons are being used in Ukraine without its knowledge," he said. Though the South Korean government is refusing to be drawn on the deals, citing "national security concerns", and says its policy on weapons supply has not changed.
He believes South Korea is facing a critical choice, about what it wants to stand for - whether it continues to define its national interest based on economic interests, or whether it wants to champion democracy and freedom.
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