NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday, the first stop on a trip aimed at strengthening the alliance’s ties with US allies South Korea and Japan in the context of the war in Ukraine and growing competition with China, Reuters reported.

In Seoul, Stoltenberg will meet with Foreign Minister Park Jin, National Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and other high-ranking officials, NATO said in a statement. He is also likely to meet with President Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential office said.

Stoltenberg will then travel to Japan on Monday, where the NATO secretary general has scheduled meetings with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Japanese officials.

“I strongly believe that we should strengthen the partnership between South Korea and NATO as security becomes more and more interconnected,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with Yonhap published on Sunday. “What happens in Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, is important for Europe and NATO and vice versa,” he added.

While NATO will remain focused on Europe and North America, its members are affected by issues around the world, he said.

“We need to respond to these global challenges and threats, including challenges from China, and one way to do that is, of course, to work more closely with partners in the region,” Stoltenberg said.

Yoon and Kishida became the first leaders of their respective countries to attend the NATO summit, joining the alliance’s leaders as observers last year.

After the summit, South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO, pledging to deepen cooperation in non-proliferation, cyber defense, counter-terrorism, disaster response and other security areas.

(source: Agerpres)