SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to depart for Lithuania on Monday for a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit on a six-day trip that will take him to Poland for an official visit, Yonhap news agency reported.

This will be Yoon’s second time attending a NATO summit after the previous one held in Spain last year, demonstrating his commitment to building solidarity with like-minded nations to promote values, such as freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

The NATO gathering will be held in Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing together leaders from the 31 member states and partner nations, such as South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Topics of discussion will include the war in Ukraine, cooperation between the military alliance and the Indo-Pacific region, and emerging security threats, according to the presidential office.

Yoon will hold at least 10 bilateral summits on the sidelines, including with the leaders of Norway, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Lithuania, Sweden, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland and Hungary. He will also meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

A highlight will likely be Yoon’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which will come in the wake of the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog’s conclusion that the planned release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea meets international safety standards.

An 89-person business delegation will accompany Yoon on the trip, representing companies in rechargeable batteries, arms and nuclear energy, as well as construction companies interested in participating in reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

This will be Yoon’s first bilateral visit to a European nation since taking office. He will also be the first South Korean president to visit Warsaw officially since Lee Myung-bak in 2009.

On speculation Yoon could visit Ukraine during the trip and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a presidential official told reporters there are no such plans.

Yoon will return home Saturday. First Lady Kim Keon Hee will accompany him on the trip. - Bernama