NATO ambassadors welcome stronger cooperation with Seoul

Defense

Published: 13 Dec. 2023, 19:16 Updated: 14 Dec. 2023, 10:14

NATO ambassadors welcome stronger cooperation with Seoul

From left, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, New Zealand's Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol pose for a photo before a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Asia Pacific partners during the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12. [AFP/YONHAP]

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, in his meeting with eight NATO ambassadors in Seoul on Wednesday, highlighted the possibility of NATO involvement in a collective response to military aggression from North Korea.

Stressing that the "security of the Atlantic and the security of the Indo-Pacific can never be separated," Shin was quoted by the ministry to have said in the meeting that North Korea will face a resolute response not only from the ROK-U.S. alliance "but also from the entire world, including NATO."

Ambassadors of the United States, Britain, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Czechia, Romania and Poland to NATO began their visit to Korea on Wednesday, meeting with Shin and officials of U.S. Forces Korea in Seoul.

The NATO ambassadors welcomed the Defense Ministry's initiative to strengthen cooperation with NATO, saying they would actively support the growth of security and defense industry cooperation between Korea and NATO, according to the ministry.

The delegation began their Indo-Pacific tour in Japan, marking the first such visit to the region involving several NATO ambassadors. Scheduled to stay in Korea through Friday, they will meet with First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and visit the Joint Security Area between the two Koreas.

The Asia Pacific Four (AP4) nations partnered with NATO for regional security cooperation — Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — have shown more engagements with each other in recent years, especially as the leaders of the AP4 were repeatedly invited to the NATO summits, including the latest in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, present at the summit, oversaw the establishment of a security cooperation program between Korea and NATO, the Individualized Partnership Program, to encourage further dialogue and consultation in cyber defense, arms control and nonproliferation, as well as on interoperability, counterterrorism and emerging technology including space tech.

A South Korean soldier, right, and UN Command soldiers stand guard near the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas at the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone in the truce village of Panmunjom on Oct. 4, 2022. [AFP/YONHAP]

Yoon even visited Ukraine afterward to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and recent reports have highlighted how much South Korean artillery is making its way to Ukraine via the United States.

NATO has also recently issued strong criticisms of the North's military provocations.

Issuing a statement less than 24 hours after the North's spy satellite launch last month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the North's continued use of ballistic missile technology in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions was raising tensions and posing "a serious risk to regional and international security.

"North Korea must stop its reckless behavior, abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and engage in diplomacy in good faith," he said, stressing NATO's solidarity with its partners in the Indo-Pacific.

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