NATO Chief Urges South Korea To Provide Military Assistance To Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea on Monday to change its policy on the supply of arms to other countries and provide military assistance to Ukraine, following the example of Germany, Sweden and Norway, in support of democracy

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea on Monday to change its policy on the supply of arms to other countries and provide military assistance to Ukraine, following the example of Germany, Sweden and Norway, in support of democracy.

"I urge the Republic of Korea to continue and to step up on the specific issue of military support. At the end of the day, it's a decision is for you to make, but I will say that several NATO allies who had as a policy never to export weapons to countries in conflicts, have changed that policy now," Stoltenberg said during a Q&A session at the CHEY Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul.

The NATO chief added that many countries, including Germany, Sweden and Norway, had changed their policies, as they "realized" that the delivery of military support was "the only way to stand up for democracy, to help Ukraine prevail and to create the conditions for a lasting peace."

Stoltenberg arrived in South Korea with a two-day visit on Sunday to discuss issues concerning the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Ukraine crisis. Later in the day, the NATO chief will travel to Japan.

"Wrapping up two days in Seoul, deepening #NATO's close partnership with South Korea. We share values and concerns, including keeping pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its reckless missile & nuclear activities, and support for Ukraine. I look forward to doing even more together," Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter, summing up the results of his trip to South Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said, in turn, that Seoul would continue cooperating with the West to aid the people of Ukraine.

"President Yoon said he will continue to fulfill all possible roles in cooperation with the international community to help the Ukrainian people," Kim was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

Yoon also told Stoltenberg he would consider attending the next NATO summit in Lithuania in July. South Korea established a mission to NATO after taking part in last year's meeting of the alliance's leaders in Spain.

Ukraine has repeatedly requested weapons supplies from South Korea after Russia launched its military operation in February 2022. In April 2022, Kiev asked Seoul to supply Ukraine with armored vehicles, anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-tank weapons, as well as help the country's air defense. A similar request was submitted to Seoul by the US Embassy, media reported. However, then-South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that the security situation in his country limited possible assistance. Seoul's position on the impossibility of supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons has been unchanged since then.

On January 26, the South Korean Foreign Ministry once again confirmed Seoul's commitment to the continuing non-supply of lethal weapons to Kiev against the background of the US and German decision to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine.