NATO's new headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. — Photo courtesy of NATO

Ji Da-gyum

SEOUL — South Korean foreign minister Cho Tae-yul will attend the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting this week, at a critical moment when Europe seeks deeper defence ties with Seoul amid US pressure on burden-sharing and as US President Donald Trump calls for a swift end to Russia-Ukraine war, backed by North Korea.

Cho will participate in the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting session with the four Indo-Pacific partners, or IP4, on Thursday — marking the fourth consecutive year South Korea has been invited to the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting since 2022, according to the South Korean foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The NATO foreign ministers' meeting will be attended by NATO allies as well as Indo-Pacific partner countries such as South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand; and the EU and Ukraine.

The South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul said: "Discussions are expected to cover defense industry cooperation and security linkages between Europe and the Indo-Pacific region," adding that Cho's attendance will serve as an "important opportunity to flesh out strategic cooperation with NATO in areas such as the defense industry."

South Korea has been actively promoting defense exports to NATO member countries, where demand is growing for rapid arms procurement under Trump's renewed pressure on US NATO allies to boost defense spending.

Cho will hold bilateral talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other foreign ministers as well as trilateral talks with US state secretary Marco Rubio and Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya on the margins of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting during his visit to Brussels from Wednesday to Friday.

The trilateral meeting is expected to cover the North Korea nuclear issue, the regional situation and economic cooperation among other matters, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

Likely among the key agenda items for discussion are Trump’s reciprocal tariffs - expected to be announced on Wednesday - the issue of North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian authorities, whom the South Korean government hopes to repatriate if they express an intent to defect, and a reaffirmation of the shared goal of North Korea's complete denuclearisation.

Cho’s plan to attend the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting was publicised just before the Constitutional Court’s announcement that it would rule on Friday whether to uphold or overturn President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.

However, the South Korean foreign ministry has decided not to alter the plan, citing the importance of the previously scheduled diplomatic events, according to diplomatic sources. — THE KOREA HERALD/ANN