Leaders of NATO's 4 Asia-Pacific partners arrive in Vilnius for summit

ANKARA

The two-day NATO summit kicked off in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and is also being attended by the leaders of South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.

The four Asia-Pacific partners (AP4) of NATO have been invited to the summit.

South Korean President Yoon Suk arrived in Vilnius on Monday and is attending the summit for a second time after previously participating in the event in Spain last year.

While New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Premier Anthony Albanese also arrived in the Lithuanian capital.

"I accepted the invitation to the NATO summit because of Australia's security and our prosperity," Albanese said in a video message posted on Twitter ahead of the summit.

"Today, and tomorrow I'll be meeting with my counterparts to discuss our shared goal of a more secure, stable, and prosperous global community," he added.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio also began his four-day visit to Europe, which included attending the NATO summit.

The summit will address the alliance's most pressing challenges, agree on steps to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense and bring Ukraine closer to the alliance.

"Topics of discussion will include the war in Ukraine, cooperation between the military alliance and the Indo-Pacific region, and emerging security threats," Seoul-based Yonhap News said, citing a South Korean presidential office statement.

Yoon is also expected to meet with leaders from Norway, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Lithuania, Sweden, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during his stay in Vilnius.

Later, he will leave for a three-day visit to Poland, the news agency said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid​​​​​​​