Analysis: NATO Summit will highlight political risk in Yoon Administration
The visit highlights medium term political risks that will increase as late-term opposition grows
Event or Trend: Yoon Suk-yeol is on a visit to the US from 8-11 July. The visit includes a stopover in Hawaii to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command; attendance at the NATO Leaders’ Summit; meeting with NATO Indo-Pacific Partner states; a series of bilateral meetings with NATO Member and Partner States, and potentially a formal trilateral summit with Japan and the US.
Significance: The visit will highlight medium term political risks that will increase as late-term opposition to the Yoon Administration grows.
Analysis: The stated purpose of Yoon’s attendance at the NATO Summit is to highlight concerns regarding Russia-North Korea cooperation to NATO members and partners.
In domestic politics, the visit will also be used to highlight achievements of the administration’s foreign policy. Specifically, to demonstrate:
Repositioning of Korea as an Indo-Pacific power.
Strengthened Korea-US bilateral relations.
Strengthened Korea-Japan bilateral relations.
During the visit Yoon will hold bilateral me…