Speaking to DW, he said: “Kim has been emboldened by Putin’s support and we in the South must be prepared for a worst-case scenario, although we must also remember that this is a relationship of desperation on both sides.
“We just do not know if Kim believes he is strong enough to attack, if Russia will support him and whether he will resort to nuclear weapons.
“The US, the West and our other allies must continue to do what they have been doing, supporting us and warning the North what will happen in the event of a war on the peninsula.
“And if Putin does send more weapons to the North, then we have to send weapons to Ukraine. There is no choice.”
South Korea has a big technological and military advantage over North Korea, but Kim Jong-un‘s trump card is Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons.
Kim Sang-woo says South Korea must tread carefully as “we just do not know if the North would use nuclear weapons.” He continued: “The situation is extremely concerning.
“The big question is around the commitment of the US to the security of the South and while I believe we can still count on Washington, there are too many variables about what that support might look like, especially after the elections in November.
“The big problem, of course, is that the North now has nuclear weapons and long-range missiles and the South does not.
“In terms of conventional weapons, the South has the advantage of modern weapons systems that would stand up well against the North’s obsolete equipment, but we just do not know if the North would use nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict.”
In April, Kim-Jong-un sent a worrying message as he urged his country to prepare for war.
He said: “Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol threatened war over “even 0.001mm” of territorial infringement.
Last week, gunshots were fired at the countries’ militarised border after North Korea soldiers charged towards the South.