SEOUL, Jan 30 (Portal) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday urged South Korea to step up military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy not to allocate arms to conflicting countries following the Russian invasion deliver.
Stoltenberg is in Seoul, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan and aims to strengthen ties with US allies in the face of the war in Ukraine and increasing competition with China.
In a speech at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, he thanked South Korea for its non-lethal aid to Ukraine but urged it to do more, adding that there was an “urgent need” for ammunition. Russia calls the invasion a “special operation”.
“I urge the Republic of Korea to go ahead and step up on the specific issue of military support,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s your decision, but I’m saying that several NATO allies who should never export arms to countries in conflict have now changed that policy.”
In meetings with senior South Korean officials, Stoltenberg argued that events in Europe and North America were connected to other regions and that the alliance wanted to help address global threats through strengthened partnerships in Asia.
South Korea has signed key deals to supply hundreds of tanks, planes and other weapons to NATO member Poland since the war began, but South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said his country’s law bans the supply of arms to countries in conflict the supply of arms to Ukraine excludes heavy.
Stoltenberg noted that countries like Germany, Sweden and Norway followed similar policies but changed them.
“If we don’t want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons, that’s the reality,” he said, referring to Ukraine.
The NATO chief said it is “extremely important” that Russia does not win this war, not only for Ukrainians but also so as not to send the wrong message to authoritarian leaders, including in Beijing, that they can get by force , what you want.
Although China is not NATO’s adversary, it has risen “much higher” on NATO’s agenda, Stoltenberg said, citing Beijing’s growing military capabilities and its coercive behavior in the region.
“We believe that we should engage with China on issues such as arms control, climate change and other issues,” he said. “But at the same time, we are very clear that China poses a challenge to our values, our interests and our security.”
In a statement by state media Monday, North Korea called Stoltenberg’s visit a “prelude to confrontation and war as it brings the dark clouds of a ‘new cold war’ to the Asia-Pacific region.”
Last year, South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO and vowed to deepen cooperation in non-proliferation, cyber defence, counter-terrorism, disaster relief and other security areas.
The NATO chief’s visit also comes as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was due to arrive in Seoul on Monday for talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup.
Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Additional reporting by Hanna Song; Edited by Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle
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