President Yoon to Attend NATO Summit, Pursue Defense Cooperation

President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7-8. This engagement marks President Yoon's inaugural participation in a NATO summit since assuming office, signaling an intent to broaden South Korea's diplomatic horizons.

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This attendance, following our participation in the recent G7 summit, is intended to further broaden the horizons of our diplomacy and, in particular, to actively pursue defense cooperation with NATO allies, who represent the largest defense market in the world.

The summit presents a significant opportunity for South Korea to actively pursue defense industry cooperation with NATO member states. According to Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Wi Sung-rak, the attendance follows South Korea's participation in the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit and aims to further expand the nation's diplomatic outreach. Notably, the NATO market represents the largest defense market globally, accounting for 55% of worldwide defense expenditures.

Amidst escalating geopolitical instability, NATO allies are increasing their defense budgets and seeking to bolster their domestic defense production capabilities. Wi highlighted that South Korea plans to directly showcase the quality and rapid procurement capabilities of its defense products, often referred to as 'K-defense,' to NATO allies and partner nations. The goal is to establish concrete avenues for collaboration.

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We will directly inform NATO allies and partner nations about the excellence and rapid procurement capabilities of K-defense.

Furthermore, President Yoon aims to build trust at the summit level, which is crucial for ensuring South Korean defense companies can be stably integrated into NATO's supply chains. Wi emphasized the importance of establishing institutional frameworks to support this integration, underscoring South Korea's commitment to becoming a reliable partner in the global defense sector.

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Based on trust-building at the summit level, we will also work together to establish institutional foundations so that our defense companies can be stably incorporated into the NATO supply chain.