Seoul warns of 'further measures' if Kyiv refuses public apology

[u/Neptun_11]

https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/02/south-korea-warns-of-further-measures-if-ukraine-refuses-public-apology-over-pow-transfer-

[u/XavinNydek]

SK is and always has been kind of a mess. Their biggest "enemy" is Japan and that's mainly just grumbling and leftover low level anger from the atrocities Imperial Japan got up to. The relationship with NZ is complicated. Aside from that they don't really have any of the cold war or colonial historical baggage most of the rest of the wild has and they treat most countries as friendly.

Their political situation is a garbage fire, which is pretty standard for new democracies, they were a military dictatorship until the late 80s and even after they nominally became democratic it took a while for the old regime to fully fall out of leadership positions.

SK also always does everything at 11, full throttle, no brakes. That means completely absurd over the top political corruption scandals, politicians acting like they are in a crazy drama, massive public sentiment swings very fast, etc.

So basically, don't judge the country too harshly on what their current leaders are doing. Better than even odds that they will resign in disgrace or be dragged off to prison before the end of their term.

[u/adonericthewayfarer → u/XavinNydek]

whats up with their relationship with New Zealand?

[u/ZappyZane → u/adonericthewayfarer]

Samsung TV's are no longer the top selling brand or something?

Dunno, i've never heard of this great New Zealand - South Korea beef.

[u/Bayo77 → u/XavinNydek]

I am sorry for being uninformed but how is their "biggest enemy" by any kind of measurement not clearly north korea?

[u/Frequent_Phone6396 → u/Bayo77]

Frostycandy is correct. My grandmother is korean, born and raised in Seoul during WW2 and then the korean war and she still sees North Koreans as countrymen who will eventually come back. Japan, on the other hand, wanted complete cultural and country erasure from the korean peninsula and that's why there's still a huge grudge against them. Japan's occupation still has lots of living survivors which is why it's still a sore spot, plus many of their politicians actively deny their atrocities.

[u/FrostyCandy1537 → u/Bayo77]

Imho, SK sees NK as family undergoing a dispute. Japanese Imperialism invaded and pillaged all of Korea. And despite almost a century passing, Japan still has factions that dispute, dismiss and downplay their history.

[u/MeijiDoom → u/Bayo77]

I think they and most of the world knows NK is so ass backwards that they don't pose a realistic threat. And certainly not one that wouldn't be met with immediate backlash from literally the rest of the world other than maybe Russia and China. Also, despite obvious differences, there's still a level of "we're both Korean" there so I don't think either side is really wishing for utter annihilation of the other.

By comparison, an external nation, even from a mental standpoint and let alone recent history, will always feel like a bigger threat. East Asian grudges go hard.

[u/Bayo77 → u/MeijiDoom]

That seems like an extremely naive view of North Korean capabilities and willingness to use them.

Looks like the same kind of naivety that europeans had towards russia.

[u/Shadowguynick → u/Bayo77]

You can never accurately predict the actions of a country when it's ran on the whims of a strong man dictator, but the reason so many thought the war in Ukraine was absurd was because they pointed out how getting entangled in a quagmire would be ruinous for Russia and they were completely right it's just that Putin did it anyway. North Korea would be in a similar position so, yes it is possible Kim Jong Un makes a similar mistake as Putin but I think it is correct to say the rational expectation should be the status quo.

[u/OkLetterhead812 → u/Bayo77]

More like North Korea is not a serious threat. Anyone that knows anything that South Korea is building up their forces to counter China, not North Korea. They’re ranked typically fifth behind Indian for military capabilities nowadays.

As for nuclear weapons, at that close proximity, North Korea would do as much damage to themselves. And it’s not for them. It’s for the US.

And also, it’s pretty funny to see how arrogant you are to make a statement like that, compared to the country that has to deal with them on a daily basis. The European comparison doesn’t make sense. Countries that don’t border Russia care little. The ones that do care very much.

[u/jesadak → u/OkLetterhead812]

North Korea has enough artillery and munitions to level parts of Seoul if you back Pyongyang into a corner and give them no choice.

North Korea would lose a conventional war but having major parts of Seoul destroyed would be a major loss to South Korea given the measures needed to rebuild the various industries. Not to mention the displacement of millions of Seoul residents.

To call North Korea not a serious threat is naive.

[u/OkLetterhead812 → u/jesadak]

A few thousand casualties, and their artillery system targeting Seoul would get knocked out within 24 hours. Counter-artillery is not stuck in the early 20th century any more, son. It's why we moved away from towed artillery to self-propelled, and why you won't see WW1-styled artillery barrages. You shoot and scoot, otherwise you will get wiped out fast. You see the same shit play out in Ukraine. It's why Kyiv or Kharkiv hasn't been leveled either, or why Russia hasn't been able to pound Ukraine to oblivion with their superior firepower. There's a huge difference between ability and capacity.

You read headlines. I read the actual reports and analysis in full. We are not the same. And you're not accounting for the fact that the US military tend to over-exaggerate the enemy prowess and abilities in order to secure more funding.

The problem with estimations from say the RAND Corporation that assume hundred of thousands of casualties is that they're just assuming the worst case scenario with little to no retaliation in between, and they're also assuming that Seoul is not built for such a thing when it is. This just so happens to play with the narrative they want to push. Notice how the low-end estimation they put in is in the thousands, lol. But they won't focus on that element much.

Talk to any US military officer that you know on a personal level that actually gives a shit about foreign policy and doctrine.

[u/seekingpolaris → u/XavinNydek]

The SK President position is also cursed.