Yoon's office reviewing Japan's proposal for four-way summit with Australia, NZ

SEOUL, June 20 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office is reviewing Japan's proposal for a four-way summit with the leaders of Australia and New Zealand on the sidelines of a NATO gathering in Spain next week, an official said Monday.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to attend a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Madrid from June 29 to 30 on his first overseas trip as president.

South Korea is not a member of the military alliance but has been invited as a partner nation, along with countries such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Yoon's office has received Japan's proposal for a four-way summit, and the presidential National Security Office is reviewing it, the presidential official told reporters.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun carried a report the same day saying the Japanese government is considering holding such a summit as a way to express the four countries' opposition to China's assertiveness in the East and South China Seas, among other matters.

hague@yna.co.kr
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