The NATO Secretary General said that the Alliance would welcome South Korea’s decision to provide Ukraine with lethal aid.

Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the South Korean Yonhap news agency that the Republic of Korea had everything it needed for Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that NATO would welcome any major support from South Korea to help Ukraine in the fight against Russia, pointing out that issues like North Korean threats and the war in Ukraine show that ensuring security was not bound by region.

“South Korea has an advanced defense industry. You have big amounts of ammunition and all the things that Ukraine needs, but of course, it’s for South Korea to make those decisions,” Stoltenberg said.

At the same time, the NATO Secretary General emphasized that there was no moral equivalence between North Korea’s support for Russia and South Korea’s potential support for Ukraine.

He noted that the aid to Russia was illegal, as Moscow had violated international law by launching a war against Ukraine.

“Support to Ukraine defending themselves is legal,” Stoltenberg said.

After the DPRK and Russia signed a pact on mutual defense in the event of war, South Korea said it would consider supplying weapons to Ukraine.

“The limit for South Korea is if Russia transfers high-precision weapons or technology to North Korea,” Chang Ho-jin said.

Representatives of the Russian government reacted negatively to South Korea’s announcement, noting that the transfer of arms would be a “big mistake” that would worsen relations between two countries.

Currently, South Korea has a ban on the transfer of lethal weapons to Ukraine. In addition, the President of South Korea confirmed his position on the ban on arms transfers to Ukraine on May 9, 2024.

The government of the Republic of Korea is currently helping Ukraine in the humanitarian sphere. The country recently handed over 10 robotic demining platforms by DOK-ING to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.