hankyoreh

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea poses for a photo with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after signing the Individually Tailored Partnership Program during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11. (presidential office pool photo)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol adopted a new partnership with NATO on Tuesday to establish cooperation in eleven areas related to national security, including cyber defense and emerging technologies. Given that Korea’s increasing cooperation with NATO seems aimed at countering China and Russia, critics say that Yoon is aiding NATO with its plans to expand into Asia.

“Since security in the Atlantic is inseparable from security in the Indo-Pacific, I think that close cooperation between NATO and Indo-Pacific countries such as Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand is more important than ever before,” Yoon said during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Stoltenberg expressed his commitment to cooperation on North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat, which he said has a major impact on NATO allies and the whole world. The NATO chief said that everyone should join together to defend the rules-based world order.

This new partnership, called the Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP), will include cooperation on dialogue and deliberation (such as regular working-level and high-level meetings in politics and military affairs), counter terrorism efforts, disarmament and nonproliferation, and interoperability in the defense sector.

Korea had previously joined an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme with NATO in 2019, but the ITTP is an upgraded relationship with an expanded scope.

During the meeting, Yoon also explained Korea’s plan to set up an “international cyber training center” and stressed his hope for collaboration with NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. Yoon also discussed ways to dramatically bolster information sharing with NATO, the presidential office related.

Experts said that more cooperation with NATO will not have many practical advantages for Korea.

“Korea is dancing to the tune of NATO as it seeks to expand into Asia through such projects as setting up a liaison office in Japan,” Kim Dong-yup, a professor with the University of North Korean Studies, told the Hankyoreh on Tuesday. “Unlike a military alliance with the US and Japan, there are no meaningful security benefits to be gained from cooperation with NATO. If anything, it’s troublesome because it means joining the front against China and Russia.”

“NATO has been stepping up its efforts to counter China and Russia since last year, and South Korea seeks to follow suit under the name of ‘values diplomacy.’ Since the Yoon administration has placed importance on forging military ties with countries with which it shares values, it seems to be stressing cooperation with NATO as well,” said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at Handong Global University.

On Tuesday morning, the first day of the NATO summit, Yoon met with six US senators from the Senate NATO Observer Group at a hotel in downtown Vilnius. “The evolution of the ROK-US alliance into a ‘global comprehensive strategic alliance’ shows that the alliance is moving onto a larger stage,” Yoon said during the meeting.

Yoon then discussed options for security and supply chain cooperation in separate bilateral meetings with the heads of countries including Norway, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Yoon wore a cap that read “PCC-772,” the pennant number of the ROKS Cheonan, while taking an early-morning walk near his accommodations in Vilnius, the presidential office said. He also reportedly wore a T-shirt and cap bearing the Cheonan logo while strolling near his accommodations on a visit to Paris on June 20.

The Cheonan, a corvette in the South Korean Navy, sank under mysterious circumstances in 2010, with some arguing that a North Korean torpedo brought it down. North Korea has denied involvement.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

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