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NATO Urges South Korea to Increase Military Support for Ukraine. PHOTOS/Reuters
SEOUL – Secretary General NATO Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea (South Korea) to increase military support to Ukraine. He cited other countries that had changed their policy of not providing arms to countries in conflict after the Russian invasion.
Speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, Stoltenberg thanked South Korea for its non-lethal assistance to Ukraine. However, he urged South Korea to do more. Stoltenberg also added that there was an “urgent need” for ammunition.
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“I urge the Republic of Korea to continue and escalate the special issue of military support,” Stoltenberg said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Ultimately, this is a decision you have to make, but I would say that some NATO allies who have a policy of never exporting weapons to countries in conflict have changed that policy now,” he continued.
In a meeting with senior South Korean officials, Stoltenberg argued that events in Europe and North America were interconnected with other regions, and the alliance wanted to help manage global threats by enhancing partnerships in Asia.
South Korea has signed major deals to provide 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 banning the supply of weapons to countries in conflict made the supply of weapons to Ukraine is difficult.
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Stoltenberg noted that countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Norway had similar policies but changed them.
“If we don’t want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons, that’s the reality,” Stoltenberg said, referring to Ukraine.
According to Stoltenberg, it is “absolutely important” that Russia does not win this war. Not only for Ukraine, but also to avoid sending the wrong message to authoritarian leaders, including in Beijing, that they can get what they want by force.
“Even though China is not an enemy of NATO, it has been “much higher” on the NATO agenda,” Stoltenberg said, citing Beijing’s increased military capabilities and coercive behavior in the region.
(esn)
