(LEAD) S. Korea to attend NATO defense ministers’ meeting for 1st time

South Korea and three other Indo-Pacific partners of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will attend the upcoming defense ministerial meeting for the first time later this month, NATO's chief said Tuesday. New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, collectively known as IP4, were invited to the meeting scheduled for Oct. 17-18 in Brussels. "I look forward to welcoming them and forging a shared approach to our shared challenges," Rutte said in a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. It will mark the first time the IP4 will join a NATO defense ministerial gathering, though leaders and foreign ministers from the nations have attended NATO gatherings for the past three years. The Seoul government is considering having Vice Minister Kim Seon-ho attend the meeting on behalf of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, considering the parliamentary audit schedule, according to a defense ministry official. Rutte said NATO is committed to enhancing c ooperation with Indo-Pacific partners, particularly as Russia continues to receive support from countries such as China, North Korea and Iran in its ongoing war in Ukraine. "Through its support for Russia's military industry, China has become a decisive enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine," Rutte said. "Russia is also receiving support from North Korea and Iran that allow it to sustain its illegal war." The IP4 members adopted a joint statement denouncing the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea and agreed to step up cooperation during the NATO summit held in Washington in July. Source: Yonhap News Agency