President Yoon Suk Yeol will likely send a strong message on the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia while discussing ways to work together with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) on responding to such cooperation when he attends the NATO summit next week. 

Kim Tae-hyo, the presidential office's first deputy director of national security, disclosed the expected message on Friday regarding Yoon’s participation in the 2024 NATO Summit which will be held next Wednesday and Thursday in Washington. This year will mark the third consecutive year for Yoon to attend the NATO summit. 

Kim said the president’s attendance is expected to boost South Korea’s solidarity with NATO and raise South Korea’s status in the world as a key country that contributes to the international community’s freedom, peace and prosperity. 

The president plans to hold one-on-one meetings with leaders from more than five NATO members, including the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and Norway, on Wednesday and discuss cooperation in the areas of energy and security. 

On Thursday, a meeting of leaders from NATO's four partner states in the Indo-Pacific, or the Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4) countries which include South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, is expected to produce a strong message on the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. 

Also on Thursday, Yoon will deliver a speech at the NATO Public Forum, becoming the first South Korean president to appear as a speaker in the event.

He is set to assess the risk factors in the global security order and talk about how NATO and the IP4 countries can work to address such risks.