President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Lithuania next week and then pay an official visit to Poland, his office said Thursday.
Yoon will visit Vilnius from Monday to Wednesday to meet with NATO leaders over the war in Ukraine, cooperation between the military alliance and the Indo-Pacific region, and emerging security threats, according to Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo.
From Vilnius, Yoon will travel to Poland for a three-day official visit that will include a summit with President Andrzej Duda on ways to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership established between the sides in 2013.
Kim said the trip is expected to achieve three results: strengthening international security cooperation, expanding supply chain cooperation and promoting South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern city of Busan.
"We will share ways South Korea plans to contribute to peace in Ukraine, which is one of the most important issues in the international community, and realize in detail our global responsible diplomacy," he said during a press briefing.
Yoon's attendance at the NATO summit will help strengthen cooperation with the alliance against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats and send a united message that North Korea's illegal acts will not be tolerated, he said.
Moreover, South Korea and NATO will adopt documents for bilateral cooperation across 11 sectors, including nonproliferation, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
"It will be an opportunity to expand the horizon of our diplomacy with Europe through direct exchanges with more leaders as we share the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law and further deepen cooperation with NATO states and partners," Kim said.
Talks are under way to set up a meeting between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Kim said, amid heightened attention in South Korea to Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
When asked to respond to Japanese news reports that Kishida will explain Japan's position on the planned discharge, a presidential official said the agenda for summits are not discussed in advance.
"If a South Korea-Japan summit is realized, the issue of the Fukushima treated water could come up," the official said. "If the Japanese side mentions it, (Yoon) will say what's necessary in keeping with the principle that we will place top priority on our people's health."
Yoon will hold a series of bilateral meetings in Vilnius, including with the NATO secretary-general and the leaders of the Netherlands, Norway and Lithuania.
He will also attend a dinner hosted by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda for leaders of NATO member states and partner nations.
This will be the second consecutive year Yoon attends a NATO summit. Last year, he became the first South Korean president to attend a NATO summit by participating in the one held in Madrid.
South Korea is not a member of the military alliance but has been invited as one of four Asia-Pacific partner nations, along with Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The leaders of the four countries will hold a separate meeting, as they did last year on the sidelines of the Madrid summit, with Yoon as the moderator.
From Vilnius, Yoon will travel to Warsaw late Wednesday for a three-day official visit.
Though it is an official visit, it will be equivalent to a state visit in terms of protocol, as state visits do not exist in the Polish government system, Kim said.
Yoon will hold a summit with Polish President Andrzej Duda next Thursday at the presidential palace in Warsaw and discuss ways to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership established between the sides in 2013.
He will hold separate meetings with the prime minister, and speakers of the lower and upper houses of parliament and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Talks will focus on expanding ties not only in trade and investment, but also in strategic sectors such as arms, nuclear power and infrastructure.
Yoon also plans to meet with officials from South Korean businesses operating in Poland, who are seeking to participate in reconstruction projects in post-war Ukraine, to discuss ways the government can support them, according to Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
An 89-person business delegation will accompany Yoon on the trip, representing companies in rechargeable batteries, arms and nuclear energy, as well as construction companies interested in participating in reconstruction projects in Ukraine, Choi said during the same press briefing.
Also on Yoon's itinerary are a meeting with Korean residents in Poland, a discussion with South Korean and Polish youths at the University of Warsaw and a bilateral business forum he will jointly attend with Duda.
This will be Yoon's first bilateral visit to a European nation since taking office. He will also be the first South Korean president to pay an official visit to Warsaw since Lee Myung-bak in 2009.
On speculation Yoon could visit Ukraine during the trip and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a presidential official told reporters there are no such plans.
First lady Kim Keon Hee will accompany Yoon.
Source: Yonhap News Agency