South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday at the NATO summit in Washington. They agreed to share intelligence on North Korean ammunition used on the Ukrainian battlefield to address the growing Russian-North Korean military cooperation.
South Korea and NATO agreed to proceed with the necessary procedures to share information on North Korean weapons.
Yoon and Stoltenberg expressed severe concerns about the recent signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea, which fortifies military and economic cooperation.
Both NATO and South Korea called the growing Russian-North Korean military ties, which clearly violates several UN Security Council resolutions, a “grave threat to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions” while also stressing that “the international community must respond (to this threat) in solidarity.”
Furthermore, Yoon and Stoltenberg highly valued South Korea as the first Asian country to agree on a mutual recognition process for military airworthiness certification.
According to the South Korean presidential office, signing this agreement is expected to streamline the export of Korean aircraft to NATO member countries, contributing to enhanced defense cooperation between South Korea and NATO.
Yoon emphasized, “NATO is a key partner in our value-based diplomacy.”
“I look forward to deepening cooperation in supporting Ukraine with NATO, cyber defense, responding to multifaceted threats including misinformation, and technology fields such as AI, based on the key cooperation projects between NATO and IP4 (Intensive Partners 4 countries: South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand) established this year.”
