NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying Kyiv is in urgent need of weapons to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with the large U.S.-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow.

But the country has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.

Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg urged 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 policies of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.

“If we believe in freedom, if we believe in democracy, if we don't want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons. That's the reality,” said Stoltenberg, who arrived in South Korea on Sunday on a trip that also includes Japan.

Stoltenberg also met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday.

They discussed South Korea's commitment to support Ukraine and NATO's possible role in dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon's office said.

South Korean officials didn't confirm any specific discussions about sending arms to Ukraine.

Following his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Sunday, Stoltenberg mentioned U.S. Intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, which he said highlights how security between the regions "is more and more interconnected.”

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, South Korea has reached major deals to provide tanks, howitzers, fighter jets and other weapons systems to Poland, a NATO member.

An American official said in November that the United States has agreed to buy 100,000 artillery rounds from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, although South Korean officials have maintained that the munition was meant to backfill depleted U.S. Stocks.

In an interview with The Associated Press this month, Yoon said that South Korean laws, as well as domestic public opinion, make it difficult for his government to arm Ukraine while it is at war.