The national security adviser said on Wednesday that South Korea plans to set up a delegation to NATO in Brussels, as Seoul pushes to strengthen its partnership with the organisation and play a bigger role on the global stage.
Speaking to reporters about President Yoon Suk-yeol's planned attendance at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO meeting this month, National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han said Seoul would try to bolster relations with NATO members in the face of an unpredictable international situation.
As part of the efforts, South Korea is talking with NATO about information sharing, combined exercises and joint research to counter emerging security threats, he said.
Yoon, who has been inaugurated in May, said his main foreign policy goal is to make South Korea a global pivotal state with a focus on freedom, peace and prosperity based on its liberal democratic values.
The June 29 -- 30 meeting in Madrid is expected to focus on the Ukraine crisis, but Yoon plans to drum up international cooperation against North Korea's nuclear programme, Kim said.
The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the upcoming summit would agree on an assistance package for Ukraine that will help the country move from Soviet-era weaponry to NATO standard gear.
South Korea plans to announce additional humanitarian support to Ukraine at the meeting, but Seoul was not considering lethal aid, Yonhap reported.
The president could also hold a trilateral meeting with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the NATO summit, according to a presidential official who said Yoon's attendance does not represent a policy against China or Russia.