Yoon-In Tae Partner 4-Nation Summit... "Strengthening Solidarity and Cooperation on North Korea-Russia and Ukraine Issues"

3 Consecutive Years of IP4 Summit
Meeting with President Zelensky "Support for Ukraine"

On the 10th (local time) at the official welcoming dinner reception for the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held at the White House in Washington DC, President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee (center on the second-floor balcony) are watching the event together with U.S. President Joe Biden and the First Lady (center in the lower row), who hosted the event, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the heads of state and their spouses from NATO allied and partner countries. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Washington D.C., USA to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, participated in a summit meeting of four Indo-Pacific partner countries (IP4: Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) on the morning of the 11th (local time), the presidential office announced.

Hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, this IP4 summit meeting was held for the third time following 2022 and 2023, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles attending. Australia was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Marles in place of Prime Minister Albanese.

The leaders of each country evaluated the close cooperation among the four countries?Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand?that share common values, and confirmed their shared recognition and solidarity in response to international security challenges such as the situations in Ukraine and North Korea.

At the summit meeting, President Yoon emphasized, "To avoid repeating the unfortunate history of war, it is necessary to have the 'power of cooperation' among countries that seek to uphold a rules-based international order along with strong and overwhelming deterrence."

In particular, the four leaders expressed serious concerns over Russia and North Korea’s decision to strengthen military and economic cooperation through the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty.' They also emphasized that Russia’s support for North Korea’s military capability enhancement violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, agreeing that the international community must stand united and respond firmly to the illegal strengthening of Russia-North Korea military cooperation.

The four leaders issued a joint statement at the IP4 level regarding Russia-North Korea military cooperation, reaffirming strong solidarity among like-minded countries in the region against the increasing common threats. They also agreed to closely cooperate to advance cooperation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific region.

The leaders evaluated that all Indo-Pacific partner countries have signed 'Individual Tailored Partnership Programs (ITPP)' with NATO and are promoting 'priority cooperation projects,' systematically strengthening cooperation with NATO. Each leader agreed to contribute together to the freedom, peace, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region based on their partnership with NATO.

Meanwhile, at a separate meeting held at the end of the IP4 summit, the leaders listened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s explanation of the recent situation in Ukraine and efforts to restore peace, reaffirming the unified support of the IP4 countries for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

At this meeting, President Yoon expressed concern over the continued Russian airstrikes targeting major cities and civilian facilities in Ukraine, causing innocent civilian casualties, and stated that the Korean government will continue to provide security support, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction assistance to Ukraine in accordance with the 'Ukraine Peace Solidarity Initiative' announced last year.

President Yoon stressed, "Ukraine and Indo-Pacific countries must cooperate to firmly respond to the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, which contributes to the prolongation of the Ukraine war."

The leaders agreed, "This summit meeting served as an opportunity to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among value-sharing countries in the region to address major issues in the international community," and expressed their intention to continue enhancing communication and cooperation among the four countries for regional peace and stability.

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