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President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, before departing Hawaii for the NATO summit being held in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2024 (local time). (Yonhap)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived at the 2024 NATO summit on Wednesday. The event celebrates the military alliance’s 75th anniversary. The summit is being held at a delicate time for the world. US President Joe Biden, who has offered military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression for the past three years, cannot guarantee he will serve another term. While Yoon should proactively support the NATO alliance, he should absolutely refrain from offering lethal weapons to Ukraine, a move that would bring about disastrous consequences for Korea’s national security. 

Ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, DC, Yoon visited Hawaii. During Yoon’s conversation with Adm. Samuel Paparo of the US Indo-Pacific Command, he referred to the recent military pact between Russia and North Korea — a restoration of a Cold War alliance — as “reckless elements.” 

“In order to protect our freedom and democracy and economic prosperity from these reckless elements,” Yoon said, “solidarity among countries that share values as well as strength is essential.”
 
It’s inappropriate for the president to personally step into the spotlight to make provocative statements regarding Russia and North Korea at every opportunity. It is true, however, that the recent pact to establish a “strategic partnership” that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed in Pyongyang on June 19 brings spillover from the war in Ukraine directly to South Korea’s doorstep. 

The leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — a group of non-member NATO partners in the Indo-Pacific — will hold a separate summit on Thursday. The summit is expected to yield a joint document that clarifies NATO's expanded cooperation with its four partners in the region. Such cooperation is likely to include support for Ukraine, military and strategic use of AI technology, efforts to fight misinformation and disinformation spread by strategic enemies, and upgrading joint cybersecurity. The Indo-Pacific 4 are likely to serve as NATO’s Indo-Pacific foothold when the alliance formalizes its framework in East Asia. When this cooperative framework officially steps forward, it is obvious that not only Russia, but China, will step in to oppose it. 

NATO has continually stressed that support for Ukraine is the main agenda of this summit. In a July 9 statement addressed to South Korea, a senior NATO official said that “anything” Korea can provide to help Ukraine upgrade its defensive capacity will be “warmly welcomed.” 

On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed NATO members in Washington, urging them to “step out of the shadows, to make strong decisions work, to act and not to wait for November or any other month.” Considering South Korea’s recent statements regarding support for Ukraine, Zelenskyy may have made additional requests to Yoon to approve weapons shipments. 

Yet if South Korea sends lethal weapons to Ukraine, Russia may retaliate via North Korea —and the consequences may be too much for us to bear. We ask that the president not focus so deeply on Western alliances and cooperative networks that he makes a rash decision. Sending lethal weapons to Ukraine is primarily the responsibility of NATO. South Korea needs to focus on humanitarian and non-lethal aid.

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