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Korea’s latest opening of a mission to NATO is a transparent signal that the Asian nation is right here to remain, because the defence alliance turns into an essential element of Seoul’s future safety technique, writes Ramon Pacheco Pardo.
Ramon Pacheco Pardo is the KF-VUB Korea Chair on the Brussels College of Governance and Professor of Worldwide Relations at King’s School London.
From authorities officers to assume tankers, Koreans need to know why NATO sees their nation as a associate and what can Korea supply in return.
Much more apparently for these seating in NATO’s Leopold III headquarters, Korea’s love affair with NATO is just not a summer season fling. It’s a part of a long-lasting and well-calibrated courtship.
Korea’s latest opening of a mission to NATO is none aside from the clearest signal that the Asian nation is right here to remain.
Definitely, there are speedy explanation why the Korean authorities sees the necessity to deepen ties with NATO. Above all, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine looms giant in Seoul. Not solely is the invasion in opposition to worldwide regulation, but it surely might set a harmful precedent as tensions between China and Taiwan rise.
Thus, Korea has develop into the one Asian nation to sentence Russia’s actions, impose sanctions on Moscow and likewise ship offensive weapons to Ukraine—through third events.
In non-public, Korean policy-makers don’t deny that Korean navy tools can be utilized by Ukrainian forces, even when Moscow has warned Seoul to not promote weapons to NATO members that may then switch them to Ukraine.
There’s a motive why Russian chief Vladimir Putin not too long ago warned South Korea to not (instantly) switch weapons to Ukraine. However it’s already too late.
But, South Korea’s rapprochement in direction of NATO has extra enduring, longer-term causes behind it.
To begin with, the Korea-US alliance is now international in nature. It is a course of that began on the finish of the Chilly Warfare, and that has develop into very clear over the previous fifteen years.
For the reason that US continues to be crucial NATO ally and is urgent for the organisation to have interaction with its 4 core Asia-Pacific companions, it’s only pure for Korea to deepen ties with it. Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s president, had no doubts about whether or not to attend the Madrid NATO summit upon taking workplace final Could.
However US president Joe Biden reminded him in regards to the significance of his attendance for good measure.
Moreover, and no less than as related, Korea has been rising safety ties with NATO members similar to Canada, Estonia, France, Norway, Poland and the UK lately.
These rising ties are partly linked to Korea searching for dependable companions to higher handle US-China competitors and partly linked to Korea searching for like-minded companions to deal with the rising threats coming from North Korea and China. In reality, the latter is changing into ever extra essential for Seoul.
As a living proof, the earlier Korean authorities led by Moon Jae-in joined NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre to assist guard in opposition to cyber assaults from these two nations. The Yoon authorities desires to double down on this coverage.
It ought to be famous that from the present authorities’s perspective, there isn’t a contradiction in strengthening ties with NATO, particular person European and NATO nations and the EU on the similar time.
This isn’t a zero-sum recreation.
Due to this fact, from a Korean perspective boosting safety ties with NATO has the added benefit of deepening hyperlinks with particular person European nations plus the EU.
One other long-term driver behind Korea’s rapprochement in direction of NATO is values, and having the ability to work with like-minded nations. Yoon has consistently emphasised their significance in Korea’s overseas coverage.
In latest weeks, Seoul has voted in favour of an investigation of China’s actions in Xinjiang on the UN Human Rights Committee; co-sponsored a North Korea human rights decision on the UN Basic Meeting for the primary time since 2018; and voted to sentence Russia’s try to annex Ukrainian territories, once more on the Basic Meeting.
The brand new Korean authorities has additionally appointed a North Korea human rights envoy, a place that had been vacant since 2018. From Yoon’s perspective, paying extra consideration to values as a part of Korean overseas coverage requires deeper ties with NATO.
In any case, Seoul feels that Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow are three sides of the identical coin, so to talk.
Relationship again to China’s determination to impose sanctions on Korea after the latter agreed to the deployment of Washington’s THAAD anti-missile system, Korea has been beneath no phantasm that its neighbour gained’t flex its muscle when it sees match.
Incursions in Korea’s ADIZ and even airspace by mixed Sino-Russian forces has introduced dwelling the rising navy cooperation between the 2. And North Korea’s UN votes in assist of Russia and criticism of NATO following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine make the Kim Jong-un regime one of many only a few governments overtly siding with Putin.
NATO will not be the important thing for Korea to deal with this trilateral cooperation. However it’s a part of the reply that the Yoon authorities seeks.
All in all, Korea believes that NATO will develop into an essential element of its future safety technique. Its love affair with the organisation is right here to remain.
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