(Seoul) South Korea’s president said it was time to clearly demonstrate strong international resolve to deter North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and plans to discuss this week how to deal with the arsenal of North Korea’s expanding arms with NATO leaders.
Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit being held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a two-country trip that includes a stopover in Poland.
“The time has come to clearly demonstrate that the determination of the international community to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is stronger than North Korea’s desire to develop nuclear weapons,” he said. he declares.
This is the second year in a row that Yoon has attended the summit, underscoring his desire to deepen ties with the world’s largest military alliance.
South Korea faces a host of security challenges, including North Korea’s nuclear program and US-China strategic rivalry. Last year he became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit while in Spain.
North Korea’s frantic quest for reliable nuclear weapons has taken on a new sense of urgency after it tested more than 100 missiles – since early last year – and openly threatened to use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States.
Whether North Korea has functional nuclear missiles is still a source of debate. But according to a South Korean government estimate in 2018, North Korea already possessed up to 60 nuclear warheads. Experts say North Korea is able to add six to 18 new warheads to its arsenal each year.
In response to the frenetic pace of missile testing in North Korea, Mr. Yoon, a conservative who took office in May 2022, has taken steps to boost his country’s missile capability and expand military exercises with states. -United.
Mr Yoon and US President Joe Biden announced plans in April to boost their country’s deterrent capabilities, such as periodically docking a US nuclear submarine in South Korea and creating a new group bilateral nuclear advisory body, whose inaugural meeting is scheduled for next week in Seoul.
President Yoon’s discussion of North Korea with NATO leaders could trigger a backlash from North Korea, which has previously called increased cooperation between NATO and US allies a Asia of a process to create an “Asian version of NATO” which it says will spark regional animosities.
North Korea maintains that its weapons tests were intended as a warning about expanded military exercises between South Korea and the United States that it sees as invasion rehearsals. Mr. Yoon says he wants to opt for peace by force, while remaining open to dialogue with North Korea.
In Vilnius, Mr. Yoon said there would be “several opportunities” for him to speak with Mr. Biden on various topics, such as strengthening the American commitment to security and expanding the trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
Yoon added that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also plans to hold a bilateral meeting there. He said he and Kishida can discuss the advancement of bilateral relations, but also ways to expand mutual solidarity and international cooperation.
The Yoon-Kishida meeting in Vilnius is expected to address Japan’s controversial plans to discharge treated wastewater from the disused Fukushima nuclear power plant, which were recently approved by the UN nuclear watchdog, but are still opposed by many neighboring countries.
During the two-day summit in Vilnius, NATO leaders are expected to offer more help to modernize Ukraine’s armed forces as the Russian invasion of the country continues with no end in sight. They should also create a new high-level consultation group and reaffirm that Ukraine will one day join their alliance.
Mr. Yoon is invited to the NATO summit with the leaders of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, a sign of the strengthening of the links between NATO and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The four countries were also invited to last year’s summit.