South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will attend next week's NATO summit in Türkiye, his national security adviser said on Friday.
Lee will travel to Ankara for the July 7-8 summit, which will bring together leaders from NATO's 32 member states and key partner countries, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The meeting will be the Alliance's 36th summit and the second hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 gathering in Istanbul.
Wi said Lee had accepted an invitation from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and would deliver a keynote speech during the summit.
The South Korean leader will also attend a defence industry forum and a high-level reception hosted by Türkiye's Defence Industries Secretariat at Turkish Aerospace Industries facilities on the sidelines of the summit.
Lee's participation "will be part of South Korea's efforts to expand defence industry cooperation with NATO allies," Wi said.
Lee is expected to meet with leaders from other Asia-Pacific countries
On the sidelines of the summit, Lee is expected to hold talks with Rutte and join a meeting with NATO's three other Asia-Pacific partners: Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also confirmed on Friday that he would attend the summit, according to Kyodo News.
Koizumi will become the first Japanese defence minister to participate in such a gathering. He said Rutte had, for the first time, invited the defence ministers of NATO's four Asia-Pacific partners to related events during the summit.
NATO first invited the leaders of Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea to its summit in Madrid in 2022.
Türkiye's National Defence Ministry said the upcoming summit would mark a "significant turning point", reaffirming the Alliance's commitment to collective defence and underscoring Ankara's strategic role within NATO.
