U.S. ON YOON ATTENDING NATO SUMMIT

[Anchor Lead]

President Yoon is to attend a NATO summit next week. Even though South Korea is not a NATO member, the U.S. government says it's been invited because it's an important ally and must cooperate in shared challenges including issues concerning China.

[Pkg]

President Yoon is set to attend a NATO summit slated for June 29 in Madrid, Spain. The U.S. says although South Korea is not a NATO member, it's an important partner. Washington says America's allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including South Korea, and NATO, Washington's ally in Europe, have a shared, common goal: a rule-based global order. It added that the kind of order is being destroyed in various parts of the world, and the allies must join hands to address their shared challenges – not only on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but China-related issues as well.

[Soundbite] Ned Price(U.S. State Dept. Spokesperson)

The U.S. State Department stresses that if the rule-based order is jeopardized, all regions, be it Europe or the Indo-Pacific, must stand up against that threat together. It added it looks forward to meeting with the allies from the Indo-Pacific region at the upcoming NATO summit. It will be the first time a South Korean leader will be attending a NATO summit. An official from the presidential office says Yoon will likely have bilateral talks with the leaders of some ten nations, and a joint summit with his counterparts from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. A South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit is also likely to take place. Washington is seeking to bolster alliance against China and Russia at the upcoming summit. But Seoul is stressing that Yoon's participation has nothing to do with anti-China or anti-Russia policies.