June 25, 2025
SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung will not attend the NATO summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague, Netherlands.
The presidential office cited domestic priorities and growing uncertainty in the Middle East. Lee had considered participating in the summit with hopes of meeting US President Donald Trump, but changed his position after the US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran.
It is true that uncertainty has increased in the international situation as the US attacked Iran and Iran vowed to retaliate.
Korea imports 72 percent of the oil it consumes from the Middle East. It would be hard for Seoul to antagonize the Middle East.
The Trump administration is expected to demand that US allies, including South Korea, increase their defense budgets. The demand will be burdensome. Even though Lee has skipped the summit, those issues remain unresolved, and Lee’s first meeting with Trump will be delayed again.
Of course, it is important for Lee to stay at home to manage economic and domestic issues but it is questionable whether they are important enough to pass up the chance to get together with the leaders of the US and its major allies.
The NATO summit could also serve as an opportunity for South Korea to export its defense equipment and nuclear reactors to Europe and possibly join the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. This would be consistent with Lee’s pragmatic diplomacy that purports to prioritize national interests.
When the international situation gets tense and dangerous, it becomes important for national leaders to come together and figure out joint solutions. The world does not revolve around South Korea. Its president might as well have face-to-face talks with leaders of strong countries in the same ideological bloc.
Most of the 32 NATO members constitute the core of the Free World. The organization has emphasized joint responses to attempts by authoritarian countries such as Russia and China to expand their influence.
It has invited South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand to its summit as its four partners in the Asia-Pacific region after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
South Korea attended the summit for three straight years, but Lee decided to skip it this time.
South Korea’s abrupt absence will be conspicuous. How will the US and NATO countries view Lee’s absence, which comes just a few weeks after his administration was launched?
It is worrying that they might doubt Seoul’s diplomatic lines. Russia, China and North Korea have criticized South Korea’s attendance at the NATO summit.
North Korea has facilities that manufacture materials for nuclear bombs, with new facilities reportedly under construction.
Iran is reportedly several months away from securing the ability to make nuclear bombs, while the North is believed to possess about 50 nuclear warheads and it has vowed not to abandon its nuclear weapons.
China and Russia maintain close ties with the North. Last year, Moscow signed a treaty with Pyongyang, enabling it to intervene militarily on North Korea’s side if a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula.
In this dire situation, it is important to send a clear message that holds Pyongyang in check. To show the South stands by its allies and friends is a sure way to do it.
Some observers in Korea suspect that Lee might have followed the view that attending the NATO summit could alienate China and Russia. Several lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea criticized the US for attacking Iran. If it is true that Lee shared that view, Seoul will have a tense and rocky relationship with Washington.
Shortly after Lee’s presidential inauguration, the White House expressed concern about China’s intervention and influence. Lee skipping the NATO summit might arouse doubt about the direction of South Korea’s foreign policy. It is necessary to prevent such misgivings from growing.