- Strengthening ROK-NATO Cooperation and Enhancing Bilateral Coordination on Key Security Issues -                                                                                 

On Monday, October 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska during her visit to the Republic of Korea. They exchanged views on ways to further deepen the ROK-NATO partnership.

Minister Cho welcomed Ms. Shekerinska’s visit to the ROK and appreciated the active high-level cooperation between the ROK and NATO in both defense and diplomacy, demonstrated by the visit to the country by Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Dragone last month followed by the one by Ms. Shekerinska.

Minister Cho stated that the ROK will continue its efforts to deepen its partnership with NATO amid the multi-dimensional global polycrisis, and called for strengthening substantive cooperation in areas such as the defense industry, information sharing, and cybersecurity.

Ms. Shekerinska remarked that the ROK is one of NATO’s most important partners, adding that, as security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific is interconnected, there is a considerable potential for pursuing various forms of cooperation based on mutual threat assessments. On that note, she expressed her expectation that her visit to the ROK would lead to a stronger cooperation between the two sides in the defense industry.

Both sides shared the view that there is considerable room for cooperation between the ROK and NATO, and agreed to continue working closely together in responding to common security challenges of the global community.