Yoon Suk-yeol will attend NATO summit, a first for a Korean leader

President Yoon Suk-yeol on his way to work on Friday morning. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend a NATO summit in Madrid later this month, the presidential office announced Friday.

“At the official invitation of NATO, President Yoon is expected to attend the NATO Summit to be held in Madrid, Spain from the 29th to the 30th, the first time for a Korean leader,” said a spokesperson in a briefing on Friday.

Yoon is expected to take part in several sessions at the summit and may hold bilateral summits on the sidelines.

It will be his first overseas trip since taking office, breaking the usual tradition of traveling to Washington first.

“The trip will serve as an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation with NATO allies and partners and expand Korea's role as a ‘global pivot state’ to maintain the international order based on values and norms,” said the spokesperson.

Global pivot state is a slogan the Yoon government created for its foreign policy. It signifies partnering with allies to become a more relevant global actor.

NATO invited the leaders of four non-member countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

It remains to be seen if a Korea-Japan summit, which would be the first in over two years, will take place on the sidelines. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reportedly considering attending the meeting.

“It’s not a matter we can confirm at this point,” said the spokesperson.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]