Vladimir Putin met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi Thursday, with the two nations pledging closer cooperation on energy and security. Meanwhile, South Korea has summoned Russia’s ambassador and said it will consider supplying weapons to Ukraine after Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a mutual defense pact this week. Speaking from Hanoi, Putin said Moscow is considering lowering the threshold for use of nuclear weapons, and supplying arms to Pyongyang.

President Vladimir Putin: “We reserve the right to supply weapons to other regions of the world. Bearing in mind our agreements with the Korean People’s Democratic Republic, I don’t exclude that, either.”