President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, D.C. On July 10, he met with the leaders of Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland and Japan to discuss concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and to explore joint response measures. On July 11, he participated in the summit of NATO¡¯s Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4) partners, including Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the main NATO summit.

The most notable achievement of this NATO summit was ¡°security.¡± Through the declarations of the Washington summit, President Yoon sent a clear message condemning the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, which violates U.N. Security Council resolutions and threatens security in both the Indo-Pacific region and Europe.

Additionally, by sharing information on North Korean weapons used on the Ukrainian battlefield, a practical cooperation system was established to respond to the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. Furthermore, NATO¡¯s trust fund for Ukraine was doubled to contribute to resolving the Ukrainian issue and minimizing the geopolitical risks faced by Ukraine.

The summit also discussed strengthening cooperation between NATO and IP4 countries on issues such as support for Ukraine, cyber issues, misinformation and artificial intelligence (AI). This cooperation was institutionalized through the approval of the ¡°NATO-IP4 Focused Cooperation Project.¡±

Moreover, through the signing of an airworthiness agreement with NATO, a foundation was laid for defense industry cooperation and enhanced interoperability. This agreement signifies NATO¡¯s recognition of Korea¡¯s aviation safety certification capabilities, solidifying the potential for defense industry cooperation between the two sides.

In addition, the IP4 summit reaffirmed solidarity and cooperation among countries with similar stances in the Indo-Pacific region. By attending the Public Forum for the first time as a Korean president, President Yoon emphasized Korea¡¯s active contribution as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region and expressed a strong willingness to align with the international community.

During bilateral talks with 12 European countries, President Yoon agreed to strengthen practical cooperation in defense, nuclear power and renewable energy. In a summit with U.S. President Biden, he finalized guidelines for nuclear operations on the Korean Peninsula, a significant achievement about a year after the signing of the ¡°Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group Guidelines.¡±

In discussions with the leaders of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, President Yoon also addressed cooperation in new nuclear power plants, the supply of core minerals and responding to the North Korea-Russia military cooperation.

Through a meeting with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, President Yoon pledged to share core human values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights, deepening cooperation with NATO.