“Authoritarian regimes cannot be allowed to win” NATO Secretary General urged South Korea to support Ukraine more militarily

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul on January 2023, 30

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s rare visit to South Korea on Monday (Jan. 2023, 30) shows that NATO is seeking a stronger partner in the Indo-Pacific to address Russia’s threats in Europe and China’s growing challenge to the international order.

Stoltenberg urged South Korea to support Ukraine militarily to resist Russian aggression at an event in Seoul on the same day.

South Korea, Germany, Sweden, and Norway have a policy of not supplying weapons to countries in conflict, but in the face of the Russian invasion, those countries have changed their policies and continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, he said.

Earlier, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue said that the supply of weapons to countries in conflict is prohibited by South Korean law, so it is difficult to supply weapons to Ukraine.

“If we don’t want autocracy and dictatorship to win, then they (countries like Ukraine) need weapons, this is a reality,” Stoltenberg said. ”

He also hinted that South Korea, together with NATO countries, militarily helps Ukraine fight Russian aggression and helps improve the security environment around South Korea itself.

The NATO secretary-general said it was “extremely important” not to allow Russia to win, not only for Ukraine but also to avoid authoritarian regimes, including Beijing, mistakenly believing that they could use force to achieve their ends.

He said that although NATO does not see China as an adversary, Beijing’s increasing military capabilities and coercive actions in the region have kept China high on NATO’s agenda.

Last June, the NATO summit invited the South Korean president as an observer for the first time. Yoon Seok-yue spoke at the summit, warning of the threat that universal values are facing as new conflicts and competition arise. A South Korean official said Mr. Yoon was referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s complicity with Russia. Yoon also called on NATO to remain concerned about the military threat from North Korea.

Pyongyang issued a statement Monday accusing Stoltenberg’s visit to Seoul of being a “prelude to conflict and war,” saying the visit of the NATO secretary-general had brought the dark clouds of a new Cold War to the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing has opposed NATO’s invitation to Japan and South Korea to the NATO summit and accused NATO of undermining regional security by expanding its partnership in Asia.