(ANSA) - BEIJING, JAN 30 - NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has urged South Korea to increase its military support for Ukraine, recalling that other countries have changed their policy of banning the supply of weapons to warring states after the invasion of Russia.
Stoltenberg, speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, thanked South Korea for the help it has so far given to Kiev, but called for more to be done in the face of an "urgent need" for ammunition, local media reported.
Seoul has signed major deals to supply tanks, aircraft and other weapons to NATO member Poland.
"If we believe in freedom and democracy, if we don't want to see autocracy and totalitarianism win, then they need weapons," added Stoltenberg, speaking again of the situation in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the war, while expressing support, President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that the South Korean law against the direct supply of weapons to countries in conflict makes supplies to Kiev difficult, limiting itself for now to providing humanitarian assistance.
Stoltenberg, meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin yesterday in Seoul, said North Korean support for Russia in the war in Ukraine reinforces the need for the rest of the world to remain "interconnected" in shared security efforts.
"I think that in a more unpredictable and uncertain world, it is even more important that countries that believe in freedom and democracy in a rules-based international order stand together - said the NATO secretary general, according to Yonhap -. We are, of course, concerned about North Korea's reckless missile tests and nuclear programs. And the war in Ukraine also has ramifications for your region. And we also know that North Korea is providing military support to Russia's war efforts with rockets and missiles.