Yoon's Second Year Effort on 'North Korea Denuclearization'... From 'Request for Support' to 'Strong Condemnation'

Warning Message Clarified After One Year: "North Korea's Nuclear Missiles Are a Real Threat"
Joint Responses to North Korea Mentioned Individually Through 13 Meetings Over Two Days

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit for the second consecutive year and requested close cooperation against the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles. As the number of cooperating countries has increased within a year, President Yoon's message has become even stronger. At last year's NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, the request was for 'support' for North Korea's denuclearization, but this year it changed to a 'strong condemnation and demand for response.' Given the increased security threats in Europe, such as the war in Ukraine, the presidential office explained that cooperation between the South Korean government and NATO has risen to the level of action.

On the morning of the 12th (local time), President Yoon stated in his speech at the NATO Allies and Partners summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, "North Korea's nuclear missiles pose a real threat not only to Vilnius but also to Paris, Berlin, and London." In particular, President Yoon pointed out that NATO allies condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in a joint statement announced the previous day for the first time in five years, and said, "I hope that Korea and NATO will continue to closely cooperate for North Korea's denuclearization."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit of allied and partner countries held at the NATO summit venue in Vilnius on the 12th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At last year's NATO summit held in Madrid, President Yoon mentioned, "To bring North Korea onto the path of denuclearization, it must be clearly shown that the international community's will for denuclearization is stronger than North Korea's reckless determination to develop nuclear weapons and missiles." Since it was his first overseas trip after taking office and the first time a Korean president spoke on the NATO stage, the approach was limited to the 'conditions for international peace.'

This year, a clear warning message was delivered. Referring to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocation carried out that morning, he defined it as "a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation against regional and global peace." He also emphasized that everyone must respond to the real threat by pointing out Paris, Berlin, and London. President Yoon highlighted the joint statement issued by NATO allies the previous day condemning North Korea's nuclear and missile programs for the first time in five years and requested, "I hope that Korea and NATO will continue to closely cooperate for North Korea's denuclearization."

Unlike last year, cooperation with NATO has been elevated to the level of an 'acting ally.' South Korea will participate in NATO's existing Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES), sharing military secrets with NATO allies. This was proposed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during his visit to South Korea in January and was decided after several months of review by South Korean authorities. It is known that military intelligence authorities will submit an application to join the BICES board in the future. A senior official from the presidential office introduced, "This is a system where NATO allies share military secrets through this network and, if necessary, judge what plans or actions are needed based on the shared information. After our review, we judged that it is necessary and helpful, so we are going through procedures and preparing accordingly."

It is also notable that over two days, President Yoon met with a total of 13 heads of state, individually requesting the international community's united response to the North Korean missile threat. The willingness of cooperating countries has become equally clear. Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, who has experience serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and chair of the North Korea Sanctions Committee, stated that he will work closely with South Korea, which is starting its term as a new non-permanent member of the Security Council, to fulfill responsibilities. Ant?nio Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal, and others repeatedly emphasized their support for the South Korean government's North Korea policy. A presidential office official added, "From now on, we will present and realize security values at the level of an acting ally together with NATO, not just as a participating country."

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