Republic of Korea opens diplomatic mission to NATO (2024)

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Republic of Korea opens diplomatic mission to NATO? ›

Furthermore, the opening of the Permanent Mission to NATO in November 2022 served as a stepping stone to systemize and strengthen the cooperation between NATO and Korea.

South Korea is regularly feted as one of the members of the “AP4” partners with which NATO wants to boost ties in the Indo-Pacific region, along with Australia, Japan and New Zealand. NATO even offered South Korea an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP), signed in July 2023.

A South Korean leader attended a NATO summit for the first time, seeking to align the nation more closely with the U.S and allies in Europe. Linking up with NATO is expected to ramp up Seoul's response to and defense against emerging security and economic threats.

At the summit, the Korean Government decided to establish the ROK Mission to NATO in Brussels to further strengthen Korea-NATO cooperation based on common values such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

South Korea holds Major Non-NATO Ally status with the U.S., entitling them certain benefits in terms of trade and security cooperation.

South Korea is a global NATO partner and major non-NATO ally which has cooperated with NATO in multiple areas. For example, South Korea contributed substantially to rebuilding efforts after the 2001 war in Afghanistan.

In 1961, the two countries signed the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty, whereby China pledged to immediately render military and other assistance by all means to its ally against any outside attack. This agreement was renewed in 1981, 2001 and 2021.

The United States and South Korea are allies under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty. Under the agreement, U.S. military personnel have maintained a continuous presence on the Korean peninsula.

NATO has a number of “partners across the globe” or “global partners”, which the Alliance cooperates with on an individual basis. NATO's global partners include Afghanistan¹, Australia, Colombia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Reunification has remained a long-term goal for the governments of both North and South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made calls in his 2012 New Year's Day speech to "remove confrontation" between the two countries and implement previous joint agreements for increased economic and political cooperation.

Who is in NATO in 2024? ›

NATO further expanded after the Cold War, adding the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004); Albania and Croatia (2009); Montenegro (2017); North Macedonia (2020); Finland (2023); and Sweden (2024).

Israel, being located in the Levant, is outside the geographical scope of the alliance. While it has had close security cooperation with the US and other Western countries, Israel has not sought formal membership in defense alliances like NATO. Turkey, a neighbor of Israel, on the other hand, joined NATO in 1952.

Israel has been designated as a U.S. Major Non-NATO Ally under U.S. law. This status provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation and is a powerful symbol of their close relationship with the United States.

In 2022, South Korea was the United States' seventh-largest trading partner (goods and services trade combined), and the United States was South Korea's second-largest trading partner, behind the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China).

It is the understanding of the United States that neither party is obligated, under Article III of the above Treaty, to come to the aid of the other except in case of an external armed attack against such party; nor shall anything in the present Treaty be construed as requiring the United States to give assistance to ...

The agreement commits the two countries to provide mutual aid if either faces external armed attack and allows the United States to station military forces in South Korea in consultation with the South Korean government.

The Republic of Korea is one NATO's partners in the Indo-Pacific region, together with Australia, Japan and New Zealand. The Indo-Pacific region is important for the Alliance, given that developments in that region can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.

Soon after the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the outbreak of the Korean War led the members to move quickly to integrate and coordinate their defense forces through a centralized headquarters.

The United Nations played a key role in the birth of the Republic of Korea through missions such as monitoring the first general election and other reconstruction programs. When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the UN intervened by sending armed forces mandated by the Security Council Resolution 82.

North Korea and the UN (1991–present)

North Korea has never held a seat on the UN Security Council. It has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City, and additionally maintains a mission to the UN in Paris and an Ambassador to the UN at the UN Office at Geneva.