The Significance of President Yoon’s Visit to Europe
Captain Sukjoon Yoon (ROKN retired) [Korea Institute for Military Affairs]
► President Yoon’s visits to Lithuania, then to Poland and Ukraine, seem to be a case of putting all his eggs into one basket as debates arise concerning ROK's role internationally as well as domestically.
► ROK has agreed to increase information sharing by joining NATO’s Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES), institutionalize cooperation with NATO through the Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP), and financially support Ukraine through the “Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative.'
► Domestically, the recent expansion of so-called K-Defense industry has certainly been remarkable, yet many worry about whether President Yoon had lost sight of the ROK’s true security priority, threats from North Korea, and the geopolitical issue with China.
