South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday met with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation in Vilnius on Tuesday, and discussed the bilateral alliance and the war in Ukraine, his office said.
Yoon met with members of the Senate NATO Observer Group on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit here. South Korea is participating in the summit for the second straight year as one of four Asia Pacific partner nations, along with Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Yoon thanked U.S. lawmakers for the wholehearted and bipartisan support they showed for the South Korea-U.S. alliance during his speech to a joint session of Congress in Washington in April, saying his meeting with the delegation demonstrates the expanding sphere of the alliance as it grows into a "global comprehensive strategic alliance," according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon.
Yoon also explained South Korea's growing partnership with NATO by noting it is the second consecutive year he is participating in the summit, South Korea's establishment of a mission to NATO last year, and the planned adoption of the Individually Tailored Partnership Program between South Korea and NATO later in the day.
He further discussed ways South Korea and the United States can work together to restore peace and rebuild Ukraine in its war against Russia, Lee said.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, said Yoon's state visit to Washington in April served as an important occasion to confirm the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance to the American government, Congress and people.
She promised that bipartisan U.S. congressional support for the alliance will continue to be unwavering, while highly evaluating South Korea's active assistance for Ukraine and increasing cooperation with NATO, and voicing hope that South Korea will continue to play whatever role it can as a key nation in the Indo-Pacific region, according to Lee.
The other members of the group were Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Angus King (I-ME) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
Source: Yonhap News Agency