President Yoon to Attend NATO on the 27th... Preparing for 'Summit Meeting' Without External Schedule

More than 10 Bilateral Meetings Including Korea-US-Japan Summit... Security and Economic Issues Expected to Be Raised as Agendas

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Seok-yeol will depart on the 27th to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit held in Madrid, Spain, on the 29th and 30th (local time). During this period, about ten bilateral meetings are expected to take place, including a trilateral summit among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as the possibility of a 'brief meeting' between the South Korean and Japanese leaders.

On the 26th, ahead of his departure, President Yoon is preparing for the summit with his aides without any external schedule. This NATO summit marks the first participation by a South Korean president, with South Korea invited as an Asia-Pacific partner country alongside Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

The key focus is 'security.' However, a series of summits are expected to address detailed economic security issues. Topics on the agenda include nuclear power exports, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, artificial intelligence, defense industry, and renewable energy. Earlier, on the 24th, President Yoon mentioned, "Since many leaders from Europe and Asia will attend, we may discuss various issues concerning our country, including export-related matters, if necessary."

In particular, the summit is expected to reaffirm the broad support of the Western bloc for North Korea's complete denuclearization. This is likely to be further detailed in the trilateral summit among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, focusing on cooperation regarding North Korea.

Political circles analyze that a formal South Korea-Japan summit has become virtually impossible. Both governments need to hold meetings sequentially with major country leaders, and discussing sensitive issues in a third country or on the sidelines of other meetings raises significant political and diplomatic concerns. On the other hand, a brief meeting would greatly reduce the burden and could create momentum for exchanging concrete issues between South Korea and Japan in the future. A presidential office official also explained, "The South Korean and Japanese leaders are ready to open their hearts and improve relations," adding, "Since the inauguration, there has definitely been a consensus that both governments will work together to resolve the numerous pending issues."

Because of this, sensitive topics such as compensation for forced labor companies and the annulment of the comfort women agreement are unlikely to be addressed in the brief meeting. However, they may exchange messages about creating opportunities to find solutions to major issues. The South Korea-Japan leaders have two confirmed formal meetings: the trilateral summit with the United States and the four-nation meeting with Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, First Lady Kim Geon-hee is also expected to accompany the president on this trip and attend the spouses' session.

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