On 14 May 2024, NATO hosted military staff talks with the Republic of Korea, at NATO HQ in Brussels. Discussions focused on the ongoing partnership, resilience building and future opportunities for cooperation. The meeting took place under the auspices of the NATO Cooperative Security Division.
NATO's delegation of experts from both International Staff and International Military Staff led by Major General Dacian-Tiberiu Șerban, the Director of the NATO Cooperative Security Division, met with their Korean counterparts headed by Rear Admiral Dong Goo Kang, Director of the Strategy and Plans Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"The Republic of Korea is a longstanding Partner of NATO. The signature of the renewed Individual Tailored Partnership Program and the subsequent military implementation plan underlines the strong commitment of both NATO and Korea to support each other." - stressed Major General Șerban in his opening remarks. "NATO's engagement with global Partners is increasingly relevant in a complex security environment, where many of the challenges the Alliance faces are global and no longer bound by geography." - he added.
The one-day visit provided a chance to reaffirm NATO's ongoing dedication to its partnership with the Republic of Korea. This collaboration, initiated in 2005, involves joint efforts in several various fields including cybersecurity, capability development, new technologies and countering hybrid threats. This year's conversations primarily addressed topics like the partnership program evaluation, defence against terrorism, resilience building and its implications for the military as well as NATO's relations with the partners in the wider Indo-Pacific framework.
"We seek to strengthen our engagement with our Indo-Pacific Partners. It ensures that NATO and our Partners can enhance their mutual situational awareness of security developments in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions, including the impact of Russia's war on Ukraine, the shift in the global balance of power, and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula." - summarized Major General Șerban.
The last military staff talks with the Republic of Korea took place on 13- 14 February 2023 in Seoul. All delegations of Indo-Pacific Partners met with NATO Chiefs of Defence in January 2024 and NATO Military Representatives in December 2023.
