The government said Wednesday that it has not received a formal request from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to establish a cooperative partnership.

A Seoul official said that the government will announce its position if NATO makes a formal proposal after the organization's summit in Riga, Latvia.

The official told reporters that NATO member countries hold differing ideas about how to develop the alliance, adding that it's too early for there to be a formal partnership request.

The official said that U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns’ recent remark that President George W. Bush will seek to bring Korea and Japan closer to the military alliance, along with three other countries, was only an idea and not a formal proposal.

The 26-member treaty organization will hold its annual summit next week.