Yoon Meets U.S. Senators as First Schedule of NATO Trip to Discuss Korea-U.S. Relations

Meeting with US Senators Begins, NATO Secretary-General Meeting Also Scheduled
Strengthening Cooperation with NATO through ITPP Agreement... Focus on Science, Technology, and Cyber Defense

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Vilnius, Lithuania to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, held discussions on security and Korea-US relations with a delegation of US senators as his first schedule on the 11th (local time). The first meeting of the Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), agreed upon by the Korea-US leaders in the 'Washington Declaration,' is scheduled for the 18th, and arrangements are underway for President Yoon's additional visit to Washington, indicating that the bilateral relationship is expected to continue in a closer atmosphere.

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon met with the US Senate delegation at a hotel in downtown Vilnius. From the Korean side, Foreign Minister Park Jin, National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo, and Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok attended. From the US side, Senators Angus King (Independent), Dick Durbin (Democrat), Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat, co-chair of the US Senate NATO Observer Group), Thom Tillis (Republican, co-chair of the US Senate NATO Observer Group), Dan Sullivan (Republican), and Pete Ricketts (Republican) were present.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who visited Lithuania to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, is seen greeting and conversing with Senator Pete Ricketts (left) and others during a meeting with the U.S. Senate delegation at a hotel in Vilnius on the 11th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the meeting, President Yoon shook hands and greeted each senator. He expressed gratitude for the warm welcome during his previous visit to Washington and spoke with senators who had visited Yongsan. The attending senators were those who had participated in the joint session of Congress and the state banquet during President Yoon's last state visit to the US, and are known to prioritize cooperation between the US and NATO.

Senator Ricketts, whom President Yoon had met during a walk the previous day, also attended. During the meal, Senator Ricketts greeted President Yoon and joined the US delegation in singing "American Pie."

Meanwhile, President Yoon held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the same day and signed the 'Individual Tailored Partnership Plan (ITPP)' covering 11 areas including cyber and counterterrorism. Since joining NATO as a partner country in 2006, South Korea has jointly responded to international security threats, and through this bilateral cooperation, it is expected to elevate security cooperation levels between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.

The ITPP signed between South Korea and NATO includes a total of 11 areas such as science and technology, counterterrorism, cyber defense, and emerging scientific technologies. NATO has been promoting the upgrade of the 'Individual Partnership Cooperation Program (IPCP)' with the AP4 countries (the four major Asia-Pacific partners: South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) to a new framework called the 'Individual Tailored Partnership Plan.' It is known that Japan and Australia have already completed negotiations.