NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called on South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying that Kyiv desperately needs weapons to fight the protracted Russian invasion, AP reported.

South Korea is currently providing humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine, joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Russia. But it has not directly supplied weapons to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively involved in the conflict.

During a speech at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg called on South Korea to step up on the specific issue of military support. He noted that several NATO members and allies, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, have changed their policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.

On Monday, Stoltenberg also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol. They discussed South Korea's commitment to support Ukraine and NATO's possible role in deterring North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions after an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon's office said.

However, South Korean officials did not confirm any specific discussions about sending weapons to Ukraine.