Seoul, South Korea – When Yang Seung-ji heard that thousands of North Korean soldiers were being sent to Russia for a possible deployment to Ukraine, she began searching online for the nearest emergency shelter.

Yang is concerned that tensions between North and South Korea, which have been exacerbated by Pyongyang’s reported involvement in the war in Ukraine, could spill over into an armed confrontation.

“I was worried that public transport wouldn’t be stopped and wouldn’t be able to get me back home,” the 25-year-old searcher, who recently moved from the regional city of Chungju to Seoul, about 50 km (30 miles) from the intersection. -The border with Korea, Al Jazeera said.

“We thought we’d pack up and stock up on some food in our apartment.”

“Ever since we heard about North Korea’s balloons carrying garbage landing in parts of Seoul, there’s just a sense that things are escalating,” Yang added.

The US Defense Department said last week that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers are training in Russia as Moscow seeks to bolster its troops in the nearly three-year war, corroborating earlier statements by Ukrainian intelligence and South Korean.

For South Korea, the cooperation has raised fears that North Korea could receive nuclear technology from Russia as compensation.

On Thursday, North Korea launched a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, called the Hwasong-19, which had a record flight time of 86 minutes.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to respond to North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine, including by supplying arms to Kiev.

“If North Korea sends special forces to the war in Ukraine as part of cooperation between Russia and North Korea, we will support Ukraine in stages and also review and implement necessary measures for the security of the Korean Peninsula,” Yoon said last week at a joint press conference. with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

The direct supply of arms to Ukraine would mark a significant shift in South Korea’s involvement in the war, which has so far been limited to humanitarian aid and helping to replenish arms by supplying weapons to NATO members.

Such a move would also require revising South Korea’s Foreign Trade Act, which prohibits the country from sending lethal weapons to live conflict zones except for peaceful uses.

Since the division of the Korean Peninsula after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea has focused heavily on diplomacy to build trade relationships that drive its export-based economy.

During its rapid transformation into one of the world’s most developed economies in the 1960s and 1970s, the country honed its soft power, including cultural exports such as K-pop and Korean film, to exert influence.

Its military involvement abroad, such as in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has largely been limited to small troop deployments in non-combat roles.

“As a country that has been able to manage decades of relative stability without engaging in any direct war, it goes against our society’s tendencies and the government’s policies to go to war,” said Son Key-young, a professor of relations international. at Korea University, Al Jazeera said.

“Even looking at the abnormal situation that was the Vietnam War, South Korea sent a significant amount of troops just because we didn’t want American forces in South Korea to leave their bases.”

Between 1964 and 1973, South Korea deployed about 320,000 troops to Vietnam to fight alongside the US military in exchange for US help to revive the then struggling economy.

“Hearing from my students, it’s pretty obvious how young they are against getting involved in the Russia-Ukraine war. And the sluggish state of the economy is likely to make other South Koreans frown upon the idea,” Son said.

“South Korea’s role in this conflict appears to be very limited, but President Yoon appears to be looking for a way to get involved as his administration has demonstrated that it is active in national security issues.”

Han Jun-seo, a 27-year-old advertising professional, said he would support South Korea sending weapons to Ukraine, but only if the government could do so without “attracting too much attention.”

“One thing that worries me is that the North Korean troops will get real experience on the ground, whereas the last time our troops had live experience was in Vietnam,” Han told Al Jazeera.

Park JR, an office worker in Seoul, said South Korea should only take action in Ukraine in cooperation with the international community and the United Nations.

“Russia will not remain our enemies forever, so we do not want to permanently damage relations. Acting alone and making rash decisions is a quick way to be used,” Park, 54, told Al Jazeera.

Park also said he was unsure of North Korea’s true motives.

“I don’t know if North Korea is doing this as a form of aggression towards our country or if it just wants to strengthen its alliance with Russia. Either way, both scenarios don’t look good for us,” he said.

For some older South Koreans, who grew up when military clashes between the Koreas were a more regular occurrence, it is essential not to show weakness towards the North.

“I don’t think it’s right for South Korea to be too aware of North Korea when we make these decisions,” Kim Shin-gyu, a 65-year-old apartment complex caretaker, told Al Jazeera.

“If the situation calls for it, we should be able to make our own decisions with confidence.”

Taking a break from a game of janggi, a board game sometimes compared to chess, in Seoul’s Tapgol Park, Oh RM said South Korea should learn to fight with fire.

“If our country also had nuclear weapons, the North would not be able to put fear into us all the time,” Oh, 68, told Al Jazeera.

“If we first become capable of defending our country against external threats, why not send weapons or provide some reinforcements?”