President Yoon Attends NATO Summit as First Korean Leader... Possibility of Korea-Japan Summit (Comprehensive)

Held in Madrid on the 29th-30th... Multiple Bilateral Meetings Scheduled, No Confirmation on South Korea-Japan Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit held in Madrid, Spain, from the 29th to 30th of this month (local time) as his first overseas trip since taking office. It is known that Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is considering attending this meeting, raising the possibility of the first Korea-Japan summit since the new government took office.

A presidential office official told reporters at the Yongsan office on the 10th, "President Yoon will attend the NATO summit as the first Korean head of state upon the official invitation from NATO." He added, "President Yoon is scheduled to participate in the meeting sessions between 30 allied and partner countries during the NATO summit," and "The partner countries include Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Georgia, and the European Union (EU), and he will hold bilateral summits with many leaders, mainly from major European countries."

Earlier, NATO invited four non-member Asian-Pacific countries?South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand?to this meeting. President Yoon's attendance at the NATO summit marks his first foreign visit about a month after taking office, and it may lead to individual summits with countries such as the United States and Japan.

This meeting is expected to discuss strengthening pressure on Russia, which initiated the war in Ukraine. The conflict between Russia and the West continues due to Sweden and Finland's NATO membership applications. Notably, international community contributions have not been a major agenda in Korean government summits until now. Therefore, attending the NATO summit is expected to be the first occasion to gauge South Korea's role and position as a global citizen, as emphasized by President Yoon.

Both domestic and international diplomatic circles are focused on the possibility of a Korea-Japan summit. Since December 2019, when former President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Korea-China-Japan summit, no face-to-face Korea-Japan summit has been held for over two and a half years. Foreign media, citing multiple Korean government officials, reported that President Yoon plans to attend the NATO summit, hold a Korea-Japan summit, and accelerate improvements in bilateral relations. South Korea and Japan have yet to resolve issues such as the termination of the comfort women agreement and semiconductor material export controls.

However, when asked about the possibility of holding a summit with Japan, the presidential office explained, "There are sensitive issues, so we cannot confirm anything at this time." It is known that the two countries are currently coordinating to hold a meeting between Foreign Minister Park Jin and Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa in Japan in mid to late this month as a preliminary step toward a Korea-Japan summit.

Regarding the possibility of a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, which is included among the partner countries, the official said, "We can interpret that the possibility is still open," but refrained from elaborating. There is also a high possibility of a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. If a Korea-U.S. summit takes place again, it would be only about a month after the summit held in Seoul from May 20 to 22.

A key presidential office official said, "President Yoon's attendance at the NATO summit as his first overseas trip since taking office will be an important opportunity to strengthen cooperation with NATO allies and partner countries to maintain the international order based on values and norms, and to expand South Korea's role as a global pivotal state."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.