Can South Korea boost Ukraine, mirroring DPRK’s cooperation with Russia?

Defense Express writes about it. 

According to the article, South Korea’s defense budget this year is $45.5 billion, with a total military force of 500,000 personnel. Of these, 365,000 are ground troops, structured across six army corps. These corps encompass 13 infantry divisions, 7 armored brigades, 6 artillery brigades, 3 missile battalions, and a combination of one air defense brigade and five air defense battalions.

In terms of armor, South Korea has 2,115 tanks. However, only 225 of these are the latest K2 models. They also have 1,450 K1 tanks of various types, plus around 400 older M48 tanks. Their infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) total 540, with 500 K21s and 40 Russian-made BMP-3s. On top of this, they possess 2,800 armored personnel carriers (APCs), most of which — 1,700 units — are K200s, a South Korean adaptation of the M113.

The South Korean military also has over 300 engineering vehicles based on the K1 platform, plus more than 200 other engineering vehicles.

When it comes to artillery, South Korea boasts 12,100 artillery systems in total. But 6,000 of these are mortars of 81 mm, 107 mm, and 120 mm calibers. They have 300 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), including about 200 K239s and 58 M270s.

Their towed artillery includes 3,500 units: 1,700 are 105-mm M101/KH-178 howitzers, while 1,800 are 155-mm KH-179/M114s. Self-propelled artillery adds another 2,330 units, including up to 1,240 K9 self-propelled howitzers, 1,040 M109A2s, and 50 K105A1s of 105-mm caliber.

South Korea's short-range ballistic missile capability includes over 30 launchers, including M270, Hyonmu II, and Hyonmu III systems. For air defense, they have an assortment of MANPADS, including Igla, Mistral, Stinger, and Chiron systems, along with approximately 150 Vulcan self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 167 K30 Biho anti-aircraft systems, 60 stationary M167 Vulcan systems, and around 100 additional anti-aircraft guns, including L/60, L/70, M1, and GDF-003 models.

These numbers are undeniably impressive, and they suggest that South Korea could, in theory, spare some equipment to support Ukraine.

However, there’s an important catch. Beyond the 365,000 active soldiers in its ground forces, South Korea has a reserve force of up to 3 million, ready to be mobilized in the event of a "big war" with North Korea.

Given this potential surge in manpower, South Korea’s military and political leaders might feel they simply don’t have enough equipment and weapons to "share" any with Ukraine without compromising their own defense plans, the article concludes.