South Korea’s president says it’s time to clearly demonstrate strong international resolve to deter North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and plans to discuss how to cope with the North’s expanding weapons arsenal with NATO leaders this week.
Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the annual NATO summit being held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a two-nation trip that includes a stop in Poland.
It’s the second consecutive year that Yoon will take part in the summit, underscoring his push to deepen ties with the world’s biggest military alliance. South Korea faces a mix of security challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear program and the U.S.-China strategic rivalry. Last year, he became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit when he took part in Spain.
North Korea’s headlong pursuit of reliable nuclear weapons has taken on a new sense of urgency after it test-flew more than 100 missiles and openly threatened to use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States since the start of last year.
In response to North Korea’s torrid pace of missile tests, Yoon, a conservative who took office in May 2022, took steps to beef up his country’s own missile capability and expand military drills with the United States.
Yoon’s discussion of North Korea with NATO leaders could trigger a backlash from North Korea, which has already called increasing cooperation between NATO and U.S. allies in Asia a process to create an “Asian version of NATO” that it said will raise regional animosities.
North Korea argues its weapons testing spree was meant to issue a warning over the expanded South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as invasion rehearsals. Yoon says he wants to opt for peace through strength, though he remains open to dialogue with North Korea.
Yoon is invited to the NATO summit along with the leaders of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, a sign of strengthening ties between NATO and nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The four countries were invited to last year’s summit as well.
