Yoon: "AP4 Must Establish Strong Collective Security Posture in Solidarity with NATO"

AP4 Meeting... "Atlantic and Pacific Security Cannot Be Separated"
Cooperation Between AP4, Indo-Pacific Region, and NATO More Important Than Ever

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 12th (local time) regarding North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea, "Our AP4 (Asia-Pacific region's four partner countries) must establish a strong collective security posture in solidarity with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

President Yoon said in his greeting ahead of the AP4 summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, that morning, "The missile debris fell into the sea north of Aomori, Japan, which once again shows that Atlantic security and Pacific security can never be separated."

President Yoon Suk-yeol (second from left), attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, is taking a commemorative photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (second from right), Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left), and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at a Korea-Japan-Australia-New Zealand (AP4) leaders' meeting held at a hotel in Vilnius on the 12th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He especially emphasized, "Taking this as an opportunity, we will institutionalize the framework for NATO cooperation, and AP4 will play a leading role in regional security in the Indo-Pacific region." The day before, during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, President Yoon also mentioned, "We need to create an individual tailored partnership program (ITPP) between NATO and South Korea to institutionalize the framework for cooperation." This reflects the judgment that close cooperation between NATO and Indo-Pacific countries such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand is more important than ever, given that Atlantic security and Indo-Pacific security cannot be separated.

Earlier that morning in Lithuania, President Yoon chaired an emergency National Security Council (NSC) standing committee meeting via video conference, received a situation report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and instructed response measures. President Yoon stated, "There will be consequences for North Korea's illegal actions," and urged, "We must further expand security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, including real-time missile warning information sharing and trilateral maritime missile defense exercises."

Meanwhile, President Yoon presided over the AP4 meeting, which was held on the occasion of the NATO summit attended by the heads of state of the member countries.

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