NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on South Korea on Monday to “step up” its military support for Ukraine, suggesting it reconsider its policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict.
Stoltenberg in Seoul on the first leg of his Asian trip, which will also take in Japan, as part of the drive to boost relations with democratic allies in the region in the face of the conflict in Ukraine and a lot of competition from China.
He met South Korean officials on Sunday, and on Monday called on Seoul to do more to help Kyiv, saying there was a “need for more ammunition”.
He pointed to countries like Germany and Norway that have a “long-standing policy of not exporting arms to conflict countries” that was revised after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February last year.
“If we believe in freedom, democracy, if we don’t want autocracy and tyranny to win then they need weapons,” he said, speaking at the Chey Institute in Seoul.
South Korea is an increasingly important weapons exporter around the world and recently signed an agreement to sell hundreds of tanks to European countries, including NATO member Poland.
But South Korean law prohibits the export of weapons to countries in active conflict, which Seoul has said is difficult to provide weapons directly to Kyiv, although it has provided non-lethal and humanitarian aid.
South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO last year.
– The China Challenge –
Stoltenberg said it was “very important that President Putin does not win this war”, saying it would make the world a more dangerous place.
“Because the message for authoritarian leaders, also in this part of the world, in Beijing, is to use force as a way to get what they want,” he said.
He said NATO does not view China as an “enemy” and believes in engagement on issues ranging from arms control to climate change.
The NATO ally still trades with China, he said, but added the recent lesson from Europe’s vulnerability to Russian gas was an important lesson not to become “too dependent on authoritarian powers”.
“We are very clear that China poses a challenge to our values and our interests and our security and there are many reasons for that,” he said, pointing to the crackdown in Hong Kong and Beijing’s treatment of minorities in the mainland.
“China does not share our values. China and the authorities in Beijing do not believe in democracy, freedom of speech and our democratic values,” he said.
“China is also a challenge because we see that China is investing a lot in mobile military capabilities including long-range missiles that can reach all NATO areas and also this area,” he said.
-North Korea-
Stoltenberg said it was unclear when the conflict in Ukraine would end, saying Putin was preparing for “another war” and was actively acquiring weapons from countries including North Korea.
Pyongyang has refused to send weapons to Moscow, and said that the United States will face “really undesirable results” if it continues to spread “self-made rumors”.
“Trying to damage (North Korea’s) image by creating something that doesn’t exist is a serious provocation that cannot be allowed and cannot cause such a reaction,” said Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the US Department of North Korean Affairs. .
He also called it a “stupid attempt to justify an arms offer to Ukraine”.
Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden pledged 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and advanced weapons in the US army, to help Kyiv fight Moscow’s invasion.