South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Leaders Summit held in Ankara on July 7-8, 2026, and his vision of integrating into the world’s largest defence supply market, marks a multi-layered turning point in the discipline of international relations. In this period when the global security architecture is increasingly integrated between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific axes, this step taken by the Seoul administration is more of a deep geopolitical positioning strategy than a commercial move. The integration of the bloc called the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4), consisting of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, into NATO proves that Euro-Atlantic security and Indo-Pacific security are now united in a single strategy. Lee’s participation in the Ankara summit goes beyond a passive observer status and carries a vision of structural penetration into the world’s largest defence industry market. This move is one of the most recent and aggressive examples in the discipline of international relations of a middle power’s strategy to maximize its own survival and prosperity in the global power struggle.[i]
This political and military manoeuvre is a continuation of South Korea’s doctrine of being a global and responsible actor. Traditionally confined to the North Korean threat and the narrow geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula, the Seoul administration has been forced to broaden its strategic horizons in the face of the Russia-Ukraine War and global supply chain crises. This visit, at the invitation of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, announces that South Korea has transformed from a passive American ally into an active security provider meeting the conventional weapons and high-tech needs of NATO countries. This situation, within the context of hegemonic stability theory, is the most concrete manifestation in Asia of the United States’ strategy of sharing its global burden with its allies.[ii]
South Korea’s most prominent short-term strategic motivation at the NATO summit in Ankara is its desire to make its defence industry a global monopoly. As National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac stated, NATO countries are increasing their defence budgets to record levels in the face of deepening geopolitical instability. Seoul aims to secure the integration of its military and industry into the NATO supply chain by taking its share of these budgets. Moreover, this is not simply an export target, but a project to create an organic military dependency with the Western world through K2 tanks, K9 howitzers, and light attack aircraft (FA-50).[iii]
In the context of long-term national interests and security concerns, South Korea is insuring itself against possible US policy changes (for example, the possibility of an isolationist regime coming to power). In response to the possibility of Washington’s deterrence umbrella weakening in Asia, Seoul is building a security bridge with European countries in exchange for direct military force. The goal of becoming the world’s fourth largest defence exporter after the US, Russia, and France in the global arms market is a critical way out for South Korea’s economic survival. Chinese competition in traditional industries is forcing Seoul to make high-tech defence exports the new engine of its economy.
From the perspective of domestic political dynamics, this move is a product of the pragmatic political approach of President Lee Jaemyung, who took office in June 2025. Traditionally, South Korean left/progressive politics has been suspicious of excessive military integration with the West and prioritized dialogue with North Korea. However, Lee, by pursuing an “ideology-free diplomacy,” has presented defence exports to the public as a matter of national pride and economic development. Through this strategy, the Lee administration has both gained the support of the conservative military and bureaucracy (the military-industrial complex) and aimed to balance domestic economic problems, high inflation, and unemployment with defence revenues.[iv]
Based on the neo-realist framework of Kenneth Waltz, who examines the structural dynamics of the international system. According to him, South Korea’s NATO orientation is a systemic “balancing” strategy. Current global power balance from the unipolar hegemony of the USA to a multipolar, chaotic competitive environment. has evolved. Russia’s harrowing war in Ukraine and China’s increasing naval power in the Asia-Pacific. It has pushed NATO and its Asian allies towards systemic solidarity. NATO ammunition production. The weakness in its capacity has to be compensated by South Korea’s industrial production lines. Although systemic anarchy pushes states towards the principle of self-help, K-defence capacity Incorporation into NATO means that the Western bloc will form a common position against the China-Russia-North Korea axis. It is the construction of a wall of technological and conventional deterrence.
The analysis at the state level focuses on how South Korea’s bureaucratic structure, decision-making mechanisms, and civil-military relations shaped this process. Behind the decision lies a modern manifestation of the “developmental state” model. The enormous lobbying power created by giant Chaebol holdings such as the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is the main driving force shaping foreign policy. The bureaucracy uses the state’s diplomatic power directly as a marketer for the holdings to overcome the bottlenecks of the export-based growth model. At this level, the foreign policy decision can be read not as a geopolitical necessity, but as the maximization of common interests of domestic economic coalitions and the defence bureaucracy. The fact that discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney regarding Canada’s submarine tender came to light shows how state diplomacy is intertwined with commercial goals.
At the level of individual leadership and psychological perceptions, President Lee Jae-myung’s political evolution is at the centre. Coming to power as a progressive politician, Lee’s belief system is flexible, results-oriented, and embraces “street pragmatism.” In his cognitive map, selling weapons to NATO and conducting peace talks with North Korea via Mongolia are not conflicting policies; rather, they are multi-layered strategies that reinforce each other. Lee acts according to a rational cost-benefit analysis rather than traditional alliance loyalty dogmas. As decision-makers, Lee and his team’s perception is shaped more by South Korea’s survival and enrichment motives than by international moral norms. This is a convergence of the leader’s own desire for political survival and the state’s survival reflex.
President Lee’s move will have direct and disruptive effects on the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. China perceives the institutional integration of IP4 countries with NATO as the construction of a “mini-NATO in Asia” surrounding itself, and sees this as a direct threat to its national security. South Korea’s establishment of innovation networks with NATO countries in the fields of drones, space technologies, and artificial intelligence is a strategic blow to Beijing’s goal of establishing technological superiority. On the other hand, this integration increases Seoul’s conventional deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear blackmail, pushing Pyongyang further towards the Russian axis.[v]
The regional détente tactics employed by the Lee administration to manage this potential escalation are noteworthy. The visit to Mongolia, which will take place immediately after the NATO summit in Ankara, is a classic balancing strategy. Ulaanbaatar’s historical diplomatic channels with North Korea aim to mitigate the security dilemma that South Korea’s military rapprochement with NATO will create in the region. By using Mongolia as a diplomatic buffer, Lee is trying to play the roles of both a Western arms supplier and an Asian peacemaker at the same time.[vi]
The fact that the 2026 NATO Summit is being held in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, and that the South Korean president is appearing on this platform, has immense symbolism in terms of both the transformation of the alliance and the shift in geopolitical axes. Türkiye, as the second largest army in NATO since 1952, is the cornerstone of its southeastern flank. The fact that the summit is being held in Ankara under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirms Türkiye’s irreplaceable strategic autonomy in the Black Sea, Middle East and Caucasus triangle. Ankara is no longer a centre protecting borders; it is one of the central hubs of the alliance in crisis management, mediation and defence industry production.[vii]
The dynamics that will take shape between Türkiye and South Korea on the sidelines of this summit are based on deep historical and technological roots. The heroism shown by the Turkish brigade in the 1950 Korean War and the subsequent rhetoric of blood brotherhood have today given way to high-tech defence cooperation. The power group support provided by South Korea for Türkiye’s Altay Main Battle Tank project and the reliance of the T-155 Fırtına howitzers on K9 technology prove how integrated the defence architectures of the two countries are. The Ankara Summit is the stage for the two medium-sized powers to complement each other technologically and become global players at NATO standards.[viii]
President Lee’s vision of establishing joint working networks in the fields of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and artificial intelligence, which is one of his main goals in Ankara, directly intersects with Turkiye’s globally recognized UAV/drone capabilities. The combination of the Turkish drone concept, which has proven its worth in the Ukrainian and Karabakh theaters, and South Korea’s microchip and artificial intelligence capabilities under the NATO umbrella could rewrite the alliance’s future asymmetric warfare doctrine. Turkiye holds the potential to be a gateway or joint production centre for South Korea’s penetration into European and NATO markets.
The fact that the summit is being held in Ankara shows that NATO’s threat perception has shifted from the classic Cold War axis to the Southern Wing, encompassing the broader Middle East, Black Sea security, and the fight against terrorism. Turkiye’s independent and multifaceted foreign policy indicates that NATO has moved from being a structure that only serves American interests to a multipolar institution where member and partner countries negotiate their rational interests. The presence of IP4 members such as South Korea in Ankara is the clearest evidence that NATO has evolved from a regional defence pact to a global democracy and free market security umbrella.
The 2026 Summit held in Ankara and South Korea’s integration efforts herald a radical paradigm shift regarding NATO’s future. NATO’s future now depends not only on the nuclear deterrence umbrella, but also on cybersecurity, space defence, and the capacity to produce conventional ammunition without interruption. The Alliance is moving from the classic territorial defence concept centred on Article 5 to the stage of “Collective Production, Technology Sharing, and Supply Chain Security.” The most painful lesson learned from the Russia-Ukraine War is that even the most modern weapons will be insufficient on the battlefield unless they can be produced and supplied on an industrial scale.
In conclusion, this move by South Korea under Lee Jae-myung’s leadership is a success of the strategy to resolve security issues in the Pacific at the Atlantic table. The Ankara Summit will go down in history as a milestone where the world’s two major geopolitical fault zones (European-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific) are interconnected through defence industry and innovation. When Turkiye’s hosting and central country role are combined with South Korea’s industrial production genius, NATO will cease to be merely a transatlantic security umbrella and will gain a much more global dimension.
[i] “South Korea President Lee heads to NATO summit with eye on world’s largest defence market”, Asia News Network, https://asianews.network/south-korea-president-lee-heads-to-nato-summit-with-eye-on-worlds-largest-defence-market/, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[ii] “South Korean President Lee to attend NATO summit in Türkiye”, Anadolu Agency, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/south-korean-president-lee-to-attend-nato-summit-in-turkiye/3984978, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[iii] “Lee to attend Nato summit”, The Star, https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/07/04/lee-to-attend-nato-summit#goog_rewarded, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[iv] “President Lee Jae Myung: A Year in Power”, Carnegieendowment, https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2026/06/president-lee-jae-myung-a-year-in-power, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[v] Ibid.
[vi] “Lee to attend NATO summit, visit Mongolia”, The Dong-a Ilbo, https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20260704/6293266/1, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[vii] “Why Washington must take the opportunity of the NATO Summit to reengage with Türkiye,” Atlantic Council, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/Türkiyesource/why-washington-must-take-the-opportunity-of-the-nato-summit-to-reengage-with-Türkiye/, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
[viii] “II. Türkiye’s and NATO’s views on current issues of the Alliance”, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, https://www.mfa.gov.tr/ii_—Türkiye_s-contributions-to-international-peace-keeping-activities.en.mfa, (Date Accessed: 06.07.2026).
