Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung held his inaugural phone conversation with Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to explore avenues for enhancing South Korea's collaboration with the military alliance, as stated by Lee's office.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during the discussion, Lee congratulated Rutte on the successful NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands. He emphasized South Korea's commitment to bolstering its partnership with NATO in response to global crises, as conveyed by presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
Kang reported that Rutte expressed gratitude towards Lee for allowing South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac to attend the NATO summit and convey South Korea's strong commitment to cooperation with NATO.
Both leaders pledged to enhance cooperation in the defense sector, discussing South Korea's potential involvement in a joint development project for NATO's future energy systems. Although Lee was invited to the NATO summit as a representative of a global partner nation, he chose not to attend due to domestic priorities and uncertainties in the Middle East. Instead, Wi represented South Korea at the summit.
During Wi's visit to The Hague, he met with Rutte and they agreed to form a working-level consultative body focused on defense industry cooperation. Kang further noted that Rutte wished Lee success in his administration and expressed a desire to meet in person when convenient. Lee welcomed the idea and anticipated Rutte's visit to South Korea.
Rutte later posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the conversation, highlighting the importance of the NATO-South Korea partnership in enhancing shared security through information exchange and defense industrial cooperation. He also thanked Lee for South Korea's ongoing support for Ukraine.