President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit Washington, D.C., and Hawaii next week to attend the 2024 NATO summit and visit the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in an apparent move to manage the strengthened ties between North Korea and Russia.
Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s first deputy director of national security, said in a press briefing Friday that Yoon will visit the U.S. from July 8 to 11 to attend the summit slated for July 9 to 11. It will be Yoon’s third consecutive attendance of an annual NATO summit.
Yoon will arrive in Washington on July 10 for bilateral meetings with more than five NATO member nations including the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and Norway and attend a banquet hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.
On July 11, Yoon will have a meeting with the leaders of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the other Indo-Pacific Partners 4 (IP4) countries which are engaged with NATO, and attend a summit involving NATO members and IP4 countries. Also, he will deliver a speech at the NATO Public Forum.
Before visiting Washington, Yoon will be in Honolulu from July 8 to 9 to pay respects to fallen veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War and visit the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Yoon’s trip came amid increasing geopolitical tensions in Northeast Asia and Europe upon the strengthened military cooperation 추천 between North Korea and Russia. Pyongyang has recently enhanced its military cooperation with Moscow through a significant treaty that includes mutual defense assistance in the event of an attack on either party.
Kim said Yoon will “deliver strong messages on the cooperation between Russia and North Korea” during his engagements with NATO members and “will discuss cooperation plans between NATO and IP4 countries.”
“Not only South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, but other major countries also deliver their clear messages against the ties between Russia and North Korea,” a senior official at the presidential office said.
“During the summit period, there will be a chance for IP4 leaders to meet, and there will be opportunities to deliver joint messages against the Russia-North Korea ties to not only NATO allies but also other Indo-Pacific nations.”