Lee’s top security aide to attend NATO summit in Netherlands: presidential office

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, the top security aide of President Lee Jae Myung, will attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit to be held in the Netherlands this week, the presidential office said Monday.

Wi will attend the NATO summit slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in The Hague on behalf of Lee, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing, without elaborating on his detailed schedule.

Lee decided not to attend the NATO summit due to domestic priorities and the uncertainties in the Middle East following the United States’ strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.

Lee was invited to the NATO summit alongside the leaders of Japan, Australia and New Zealand — collectively known as the Indo-Pacific Four. However, three of the four leaders — excluding New Zealand’s prime minister — opted not to attend the summit amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.

Lee had initially considered participating, hoping to hold his first in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss trade tariffs and alliance issues, but he decided to forgo the trip at the last minute.

At this year’s summit, NATO members are expected to agree to raise their defense spending targets to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in response to demands from Trump.

While South Korea is not a NATO member, there has been increasing pressure from Washington for Asian allies to join Europe in raising the defense spending threshold to 5 percent, as part of broader efforts to counter China’s growing influence.

South Korea’s defense spending stood at 61.2 trillion won (US$44.6 billion) for this year, accounting for 2.32 percent of its GDP.

Raising it to meet the 5 percent threshold would require South Korea to more than double its defense spending to around 132 trillion won.