NATO invites Korea to summit for third consecutive time

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a media conference during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the organization's headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) invited President Yoon Suk Yeol and the leaders of three other nations in the Indo-Pacific region to the upcoming summit in Washington scheduled for July for the third consecutive year.

“I welcome the fact that I have now invited the heads of state and government from South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, our partners in the Asia-Pacific, for the third time to attend the summit in Washington in July,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as foreign ministers of the organization met in Brussels on Wednesday local time.

Although the leaders of the four countries were invited to previous summits, this is the first time that NATO formalized the invitations. Yoon was invited to the two previous NATO summits held in Spain in 2022 and Lithuania last year.

Stoltenberg stressed the importance of working with NATO allies and partners in supporting Ukraine as “Russia’s friends in Asia are vital” to continue the war.

“North Korea and Iran are delivering substantial supplies of weapons and ammunition [to Russia],” said the NATO chief. “In return, Pyongyang and Tehran are receiving Russian technology and supplies that help them advance their missile and nuclear capabilities.”

The NATO chief said like-minded countries should work together in areas such as technology and cybersecurity “to defend a global order ruled by law” against threats to regional and global security emanating from Russia’s deepening ties with its partners.

Representatives from the four countries were invited to the two-day meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in attendance.

The division between Russia and its partners and the Western coalition and its Indo-Pacific allies, including South Korea, has deepened recently. Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation and arms trade have ramped up and recently, Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution to extend the mandate on the panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea on March 28.

Seoul urged Moscow to make efforts to manage South Korea-Russia bilateral relations after Russia warned of measures against South Korea’s recent decision to impose new sanctions on Russian ships, entities and individuals.

South Korea slapped sanctions on two Russian ships, two entities and two individuals involved in illegally transferring North Korean workers overseas and shipping military supply containers on Tuesday.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized the decision on Wednesday as an “unfriendly” move and said it will take strong actions in response.

“We are making active efforts to manage ties between South Korea and Russia while strictly dealing with the illegal cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said in a regular press briefing Thursday. "We urge Russia to make appropriate efforts."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]