Brussels: Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is set to engage in a trilateral dialogue with his counterparts from the United States and Japan during the upcoming NATO meeting, Seoul's foreign ministry announced. The talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will occur on the sidelines of the NATO summit later this week.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this meeting follows a previous engagement in Munich less than two months ago. Cho is scheduled to leave for Brussels, where the NATO summit will be held, late Tuesday. The discussions are expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear threats, economic cooperation, and other regional and global issues. A foreign ministry official indicated that attention would be on whether a joint statement will be issued and if it will address China.
The last joint statement, issued after the Munich meeting, supported Taiwan's participation in international organizations, a position that likely displeased Beijing. It remains undecided whether Cho will hold separate bilateral meetings with Rubio or Iwaya. Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong suggested there might naturally be opportunities for encounters between Cho and Secretary Rubio.
Cho will also participate in a session involving NATO allies and Indo-Pacific partners, marking the fourth consecutive time a South Korean diplomat attends this multilateral gathering. The meeting will include NATO allies, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, and Ukraine to discuss defense and regional security cooperation.
The ministry highlighted the importance of this occasion for shaping strategic cooperation with NATO and strengthening partnerships based on shared core values. Additionally, Cho plans to hold bilateral and other talks with counterparts from participating countries and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the summit.