Seoul, thank you for reinforcing the Western front in Ankara

Introduction: a letter to an ally finally ready to show up

Dear President Lee Jae-myung

Mr. President, I am writing you this open letter because your decision to attend the NATO summit in Ankara, on July 7 and 8, 2026, deserves to be praised loudly and clearly. According to Reuters, your presence was confirmed alongside an official visit to Mongolia, a diplomatic trip that sends a clear signal to Pyongyang, Beijing, and Moscow.

In a world where Western democracies must, more than ever, close ranks, your attendance at this summit confirms what many of us have hoped for months: that South Korea will no longer simply watch from a distance the tensions between the Atlantic Alliance and its authoritarian adversaries, but will choose to actively take part.

Why this letter, why now

I am writing this piece as an open letter because I believe certain diplomatic gestures deserve to be addressed directly, without filter, to the people making them. Your presence in Ankara is not a protocol detail: it is a strategic choice that deserves to be named and applauded.

This letter relies exclusively on facts reported by recognized news agencies and government sources, not on assumptions or personal speculation about your actual intentions.

The IP4 group, a bridge between two oceans

Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand

Your attendance confirms the invitation extended for several years now to the leaders of the IP4 group, which brings together Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. This format, born of a desire to bring NATO closer to its Indo-Pacific partners, takes on particular meaning in 2026, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and on the Korean peninsula.

The Hudson Institute has noted that this IP4-NATO partnership remains caught between ambition and restraint, with Europeans sometimes hesitant to commit too openly in Asia for fear of provoking Beijing, while Indo-Pacific partners seek concrete guarantees rather than empty symbols.

An alliance of circumstance turned strategic necessity

What began merely as circumstantial cooperation is becoming, summit after summit, a genuine architecture of shared security between the Atlantic and the Pacific, driven by the shared conviction that democracies must coordinate their responses to authoritarian regimes.

This gradual evolution reflects a major strategic realization: European security and Asian security are no longer isolated theaters, but interconnected fronts against an increasingly coordinated authoritarian axis linking Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

The North Korean threat, backdrop to this trip

An unpredictable regime at Seoul's doorstep

Your presence in Ankara cannot be separated from the daily reality your country faces: an unpredictable North Korean regime, equipped with a growing nuclear arsenal, and now directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine alongside Russia through the sending of troops and munitions.

This military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow turns the North Korean question into a direct issue tied to European security, which fully justifies your presence at a summit historically centered on the Atlantic.

An intelligence exchange that benefits everyone

By taking part in this summit, South Korea can share with Western allies unique expertise on North Korean military capabilities, precisely at the moment those same capabilities are being deployed on European soil as part of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

This two-way intelligence sharing is one of the most concrete and least publicized benefits of this kind of diplomatic rapprochement between allies who are geographically distant but strategically linked.

China, a shadow cast over this summit

Beijing is watching, Beijing is worried

It would be naive to think Beijing is watching this rapprochement between Seoul and NATO with indifference. China has long viewed the growing involvement of its Asian neighbors in Western security structures as a direct provocation, one that could justify strengthening its own regional military posture.

This Chinese unease, far from being an argument against your participation, is actually its best justification: a strategic adversary that fears coordination among democracies confirms, through that very reaction, the relevance of that coordination.

A systemic rivalry that goes beyond Taiwan

The rivalry between the West and China is no longer limited to the question of Taiwan alone, as crucial as that is. It now encompasses control of strategic supply chains, technological dominance, and normative influence over tomorrow's international order.

In this broader context, every strengthened alliance between democracies, including the one between South Korea and NATO, represents a necessary counterweight to China's hegemonic ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Ankara summit, a strategic crossroads

Why Turkey as host

The choice of Ankara as host city for this NATO summit is not incidental. Turkey occupies a pivotal geographic position between Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, a strategic crossroads particularly relevant as the Alliance seeks to expand its dialogue beyond the traditional European theater alone.

According to Yeni Safak and the Anadolu agency, this summit must also address the question of burden-sharing among Allies, a sensitive topic ever since Washington announced a reduction in its direct military commitments on European soil.

A packed agenda between deterrence and rearmament

Beyond the symbolic presence of Indo-Pacific leaders, this summit must decide on concrete matters: the target now set at 5% of GDP in defense spending for Alliance members, as well as the distribution of military capabilities left vacant by the partial American withdrawal.

These technical discussions, though less spectacular than diplomatic symbols, will concretely determine NATO's real ability to deter its adversaries in the years ahead.

The Chosun newspaper and the South Korean reading of this trip

An openly firm diplomacy

The South Korean daily Chosun presented your trip as confirmation of the diplomacy of firmness adopted by your government in the face of repeated provocations from Pyongyang, an approach that stands in contrast to the more conciliatory stances of some previous administrations.

This domestic reading of your trip underscores just how closely South Korean foreign policy remains tied to the domestic perception of the North Korean threat, a factor that weighs heavily on every major diplomatic decision made by your government.

A political bet that carries risks

This rapprochement with NATO is not without domestic political risk for you, Mr. President, in a country where public opinion remains divided on the desirable level of engagement with Western alliances that are geographically distant from the Korean peninsula.

This bet, however, seems consistent with a clear-eyed assessment of contemporary threats, which no longer respect strict regional boundaries between Europe and Northeast Asia.

The historical precedents of this cooperation

A trajectory underway for several summits

Your trip to Ankara did not come out of nowhere. It fits into a trajectory that began over several consecutive NATO summits, where IP4 group leaders were gradually brought into the Alliance's strategic discussions, first symbolically, then in an increasingly substantial way.

This gradual progression illustrates a deep structural evolution within NATO itself, which now explicitly recognizes the interconnection between European security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

A signal of continuity despite changes in government

The fact that this cooperation continues despite political turnover, both in South Korea and among NATO member states, demonstrates that it rests on lasting strategic interests rather than fleeting partisan preferences.

This continuity is in itself a mark of credibility for all the partners involved, in an international context where the stability of diplomatic commitments has become a rare and precious commodity.

Trump and the Western military posture

An American president pushing for burden-sharing

It must be acknowledged honestly: the pressure exerted by the Trump administration for European and Indo-Pacific allies to take on a larger share of the collective military burden has, paradoxically, accelerated this kind of broader strategic rapprochement.

This American pressure, often criticized for its rhetorical bluntness, has nonetheless produced a real structuring effect: it forced countries like South Korea to clarify their strategic positioning toward the Atlantic Alliance more quickly.

Crediting what works, without complacency

On strictly military and deterrence grounds, this administration deserves credit for accelerating a Western rearmament dynamic that many previously judged too slow given the urgency of the threats posed by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

This recognition, however, must not turn into blanket approval of all of this administration's policies, particularly on domestic issues far removed from the sphere of collective Western defense.

Defense companies, the quiet big winners

A booming arms market

This strategic rapprochement between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners directly benefits the Western defense industry, amid growing orders for military equipment from countries seeking to rapidly strengthen their capabilities against regional threats.

South Korea itself has established itself in recent years as a leading arms exporter, notably to several European countries eager to diversify their military supply sources away from exclusive dependence on American or French industries.

An industrial interdependence that strengthens the alliance

This growing industrial interdependence between Europe and South Korea serves as an additional bond for this strategic relationship, beyond the diplomatic symbols alone seen at international summits like the one in Ankara.

When concrete economic interests add to strategic convergence, alliances gain resilience against the political uncertainties that might otherwise weaken them over the long term.

What this visit says about a changing world order

The end of siloed geographic theaters

Your trip to Ankara symbolizes a broader transformation of the global geopolitical order: the gradual end of siloed geographic theaters where Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were treated as separate files by Western chancelleries.

This transformation reflects an unavoidable strategic reality: authoritarian regimes are already coordinating their efforts on a global scale, which logically forces democracies to respond with an equally global coordination of their own security policies.

A multipolar world that demands flexible alliances

In this emerging multipolar world, traditional rigid alliances centered on a single geographic region are gradually becoming obsolete against threats that, themselves, respect no strict regional borders.

This reality demands a new strategic flexibility from Western democracies and their Asian partners, of which your presence at this summit is precisely a concrete and welcome illustration.

Critical voices and their legitimate reservations

An excessive expansion of NATO, according to some

Not everyone welcomes this evolution with the same enthusiasm. Some analysts, notably those cited by the Hudson Institute, believe NATO risks stretching itself too thin strategically by multiplying extraregional partnerships, to the detriment of its core mission of collective European defense.

This criticism deserves to be taken seriously, because it points to a real risk of strategic dilution if the Alliance fails to clearly articulate priorities between its core European mission and its broader Indo-Pacific partnerships.

A balance still to be found

I do not claim this tension is already resolved. NATO will, in the months and years ahead, need to precisely clarify the nature of its engagement with partners like South Korea, without diluting its deterrence capability against Russia on the European continent.

This delicate balance between strategic openness and resource concentration will likely be one of the most defining debates of the Atlantic Alliance's upcoming summits.

The South Korean example for other Asian partners

A model watched closely in Tokyo and Canberra

Your decision to attend this summit will be watched very closely by Japan and Australia, two other members of the IP4 group, who may draw on it to calibrate their own future level of engagement with the Atlantic Alliance.

This regional emulation dynamic could gradually turn the IP4 format into a genuinely coordinated bloc, capable of speaking with a more unified voice against the pressure exerted by China and North Korea in the Indo-Pacific region.

A responsibility that extends beyond your national borders

By traveling to Ankara, you carry a responsibility that goes beyond South Korea's national interests alone: that of demonstrating that active engagement with Western democracies is not only possible, but strategically worthwhile for a country facing direct existential threats.

This responsibility, I believe, honors you more than it constrains you, at a historic moment when diplomatic courage has become rare among world leaders.

What Ukraine is watching from Kyiv

Indirect but real support for the Ukrainian cause

From Kyiv, this rapprochement between South Korea and NATO is being followed with particular interest, as it indirectly strengthens the international coalition supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, notably through increased intelligence sharing on North Korean military capabilities deployed on the European theater.

Every strengthening of Western coordination, even one involving partners geographically distant from the conflict, helps further isolate Vladimir Putin on the international stage and weaken his alliance axis with Pyongyang and Tehran.

An expanding democratic solidarity

President Volodymyr Zelensky has himself often stressed the global, not merely European, nature of the fight for Ukraine's survival against Russian aggression, a reading your presence at this summit indirectly reinforces.

This expanded democratic solidarity, linking Europe, Asia, and North America, is precisely the kind of united front authoritarian regimes fear most, because it severely limits their ability to divide their democratic adversaries.

The role of Canada and other peripheral members

A dynamic that goes beyond the major players alone

Beyond the spotlight on Washington, Brussels, or Seoul, this Ankara summit also confirms the growing importance of peripheral members like Canada, which has itself increased its contributions to NATO's rapid reaction forces in response to the partial American withdrawal.

This broader mobilization, involving countries sometimes considered secondary in major strategic balances, shows just how much collective Western defense now rests on a far broader base than in the past.

A lesson in solidarity for the whole Alliance

This expanded solidarity, from Canada to South Korea, demonstrates that the burden of Western defense can indeed be shared more equitably, provided the political will genuinely exists among each of the partners involved.

This is precisely the more equitable burden-sharing Washington has demanded for years, and which finally seems to be materializing as this Ankara summit approaches.

Conclusion: thank you for clearly choosing your side

A gesture that will remain in diplomatic memory

Mr. President, your decision to travel to Ankara for this NATO summit will stand as a defining gesture in the recent history of relations between South Korea and the Atlantic Alliance, at a moment when strategic clarity matters more than ever against increasingly coordinated adversaries.

This gesture alone will not resolve tensions with Pyongyang nor neutralize Beijing's regional ambitions, but it sends an essential signal of cohesion among democracies at a moment when that very cohesion is exactly what your common adversaries fear most.

A call to keep moving in this direction

I invite you, Mr. President, to continue on this path of active engagement with Western partners, not out of submission to any outside pressure, but out of strategic clear-sightedness in a world where isolated democracies become more vulnerable targets than coordinated ones.

History may well remember this Ankara summit as another milestone in building a truly global democratic front, capable of standing firm against the combined ambitions of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist

Columnist's transparency note

Who I am and my acknowledged biases

I am a pro-Western, pro-Ukraine columnist who supports coordinated rearmament among democracies against authoritarian regimes. This open letter explicitly reflects that conviction, and I do not claim to write from a stance of classic journalistic neutrality.

I believe coordination between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners is a rational response to contemporary threats, but I acknowledge that this reading is not shared by every analyst in international relations.

What I don't know and my method

I don't know how President Lee Jae-myung will personally receive this open letter, nor whether his participation in this summit will produce the long-term strategic effects I anticipate in this piece. No diplomatic prediction is ever fully certain.

My method relies on cross-referencing recognized journalistic sources, including Reuters, the Anadolu agency, and South Korean media, without access to confidential diplomatic information on the internal discussions preceding this summit.

Sources

Primary sources

Reuters, South Korean president confirmed for NATO summit in Ankara — July 3, 2026

Anadolu Agency, President Lee to attend NATO summit in Turkiye — July 3, 2026

Secondary sources

Yeni Safak, South Korean president to attend NATO summit in Turkiye — July 3, 2026

Chosun, coverage of South Korean diplomacy ahead of the NATO summit — July 3, 2026

Decode39, analysis of the IP4 format between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners — 2026

Hudson Institute, NATO and the IP4 caught between ambition and strategic restraint — 2026