► President Yoon’s attendance at the 75th NATO Summit highlighted 1) efforts to deepen links between Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security due to North Korea-Russia ties and growing global perceptions of China as a systemic challenge; 2) increased expectations on Seoul to be a security provider beyond the Korean Peninsula; and 3) growing political uncertainty and hyper partisanship in South Korea and the United States.
► Current trends indicate the threats and challenges posed by Russia and China (and North Korea) will become increasingly intertwined and conflated both in perception and reality.
► In this context, Seoul will face a combination of increasing expectations from the United States to make more overt choices than it is traditionally comfortable making alongside a narrowing strategic space within which to make them.