[ad_1]
By Soo-hyang Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea plans to set up a delegation to NATO in Brussels, the national security adviser said on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to strengthen its partnership with the organization and play a greater role on the world stage.
Speaking to reporters about President Yoon Suk-yeol’s planned attendance at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting this month, National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han said said Seoul would seek to strengthen relations with NATO members in the face of an “unpredictable” international crisis. situation.
As part of these efforts, South Korea is discussing with NATO information sharing, combined exercises and joint research to counter emerging security threats, he said.
Yoon, inaugurated in May, said his main foreign policy goal was to make South Korea a “global pivot state” with a focus on promoting freedom, peace and prosperity on the basis of its liberal democratic values.
Although the June 29-30 meeting in Madrid is expected to focus on the Ukraine crisis, Yoon plans to strengthen international cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear program, Kim said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the upcoming summit should agree on an assistance program for Ukraine that will help the country move from old Soviet-era weaponry to equipment NATO standard.
South Korea plans to announce additional humanitarian support to Ukraine at the meeting, but Seoul was not considering lethal aid, Yonhap reported.
The new president could also hold a trilateral meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Yonhap said, quoting a presidential official as saying Yoon’s presence does not represent a policy against China or Russia.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
[ad_2]
