Seoul: National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, the top security aide of President Lee Jae Myung, will attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the Netherlands this week, according to the presidential office. The summit is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague, with Wi representing President Lee, as stated by presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung in a written briefing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, President Lee decided against attending the NATO summit himself due to domestic priorities and uncertainties in the Middle East, following the United States' strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran. Although Lee was invited to the summit alongside leaders from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, he and two other leaders chose not to attend because of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
Lee had initially considered attending the summit to hold his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss trade tariffs and alliance issues. However, he decided to cancel his trip at the last minute. This year's summit is expected to see NATO members agreeing to raise their defense spending targets to 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP), in response to demands from Trump.
While South Korea is not a NATO member, there has been growing pressure from Washington for its Asian allies to join Europe in raising their defense spending threshold to 5 percent, as part of efforts to counter China's increasing influence. Currently, South Korea's defense spending amounts to 61.2 trillion won (approximately US$44.6 billion), which is 2.32 percent of its GDP. Meeting the 5 percent threshold would require South Korea to more than double its defense spending to around 132 trillion won.