North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says President Yoon Suk Yeol's participation in next week's NATO summit in Washington reflects the two sides' deepened and strengthened partnership.

At a pre-summit press conference on Friday, Stoltenberg stated that South Korea is a highly regarded partner, highlighting how this year will mark Yoon's third consecutive NATO summit attendance.

Stoltenberg, who has invited leaders from South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to take part in the summit for the third consecutive year to expand the security alliance's partnership with the Indo-Pacific region, said NATO's security is interlinked with the security of South Korea and the countries in the Indo-Pacific. 

Expressing concern about Iran and North Korea fueling Russia’s war with drones and shells and China propping up Russia’s war economy, he said they will seek to build practical cooperation on Ukraine, cyber and new technologies through flagship projects.

The NATO chief said the flagship projects are partly about medical education of Ukrainian soldiers and defense industry cooperation, also mentioning expanding intelligence information exchanges with South Korea.

Announcing Yoon's trip to Washington from next Wednesday to Thursday, the presidential office's First Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo said Seoul intends to send a strong message regarding North Korea-Russia military cooperation and discuss ways to enhance cooperation with NATO.