NATO keen to learn Korea's defense model as 30 allied ambassadors visit Seoul: Czech envoy

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NATO keen to learn Korea's defense model as 30 allied ambassadors visit Seoul: Czech envoy

Published: 15 Apr. 2026, 18:12

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Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

David Konecký, Czech Republic's ambassador to NATO, speaks in an exclusive interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Czech Embassy in Seoul on April 14. [PARK SANG-MOON]

[INTERVIEW]

As U.S. President Donald Trump questions the future of its alliances and threatens to pull American troops from Europe, 30 of NATO’s 32 member states sent their ambassadors to Korea this week — an unprecedented show of solidarity toward a nonmember country.

The three-day visit to Seoul, which ran from Monday through Wednesday, involved the largest such delegation ever assembled for an Indo-Pacific partner country, with Spain and Hungary the only two exceptions. Unlike formal NATO institutional visits organized by the alliance's Brussels secretariat, this trip was arranged by France in its role as host nation — meaning each ambassador came voluntarily.

David Konecký, the Czech Republic's ambassador to NATO, said that the size of the delegation to Korea is "exceptional," adding that the mission is "not only to discuss but also to learn" from their strategic partner as he sat with the Korea JoongAng Daily in an exclusive interview at the Czech Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday.

NATO envoys participate in a briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul on April 14. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

"It's not only about the armed forces, it's not only about the quality of our army — it's also about the strength of the defense industry to provide to the armed forces what is needed," Konecký said. "Both Korea and Japan are very strong in the defense industry."

Konecký said that ambassadors visited Korean defense companies, such as HD Hyundai, to learn how they "relate to the state," "scale up the production if there is a need" and "ensure that the supply chain is secure even in times of tension."

The urgency of the NATO ambassadors' visit stems from a historic crisis in European security: the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“If we had come five years ago, this dimension would not be that important,” Konecký said. “But right now, I think it's one of the central things."

The timing of the visit is difficult to separate from the turbulence inside NATO itself.

Trump has publicly called for a "reexamination" of the alliance, questioned why the United States should carry the burden of European defense, and — according to reports — is weighing the withdrawal of American troops from several European countries. Last week, he ripped into NATO allies again after European members signaled they viewed the U.S. military operation against Iran as "not our war."

“We take Trump seriously, but we don't take him literally,” Konecký said, borrowing a phrase that has become something of an informal doctrine among alliance members. “We focus more on the substance of what he said than on the way he said it. And in substance, on many issues, he is right.

"European allies and Canada did not invest enough in their defense capabilities," he said. "Right now, our main focus is how to develop the defense capabilities of non-U.S. — European and Canadian — allies as fast as we can."

The alliance spent years failing to meet its own 2 percent GDP spending benchmark — a target all members finally hit only last year. At The Hague summit in 2025, the bar was raised again: 5 percent of GDP by 2035, split between 3.5 percent for hard military capability and 1.5 percent for broader resilience measures such as cyber defense and critical infrastructure.

For European nations currently facing a "pressing short-term need" to refill empty warehouses, Korean defense firms have become a go-to solution.

Several NATO allies — Poland most visibly — have already signed major contracts with Korean manufacturers to restock their arsenals. But there is also a growing political push to ensure that Europe builds its own long-term defense capacity on home soil.

However, the ambassadors are seeking a blueprint for long-term sustainability and resilience.

“We want to have the defense industry production on our soil,” Konecký explained. “In a time of crisis, you don't want to have supply chains that are very long because they could be somehow hampered. So for us, this is a kind of concept which should be self-sustaining.”

Korea's role in that longer-term vision extends well beyond hardware.

"Technology transfers, cooperation on research and development in different areas — it's really very vast," he said, pointing to dual-use technologies, which serve both military and civilian purposes, as a growing area of interest.

"It's not only about the Korean defense industry providing us products — what is more interesting for us is the cooperation," Konecký said. "And whenever Korea is helping Europe to be more prosperous and grow, that is actually helping our defense spending."

A prime example is the Dukovany nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic, where Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is the preferred bidder. A more prosperous Europe, Konecký argued, generates the revenues that ultimately fund defense spending — and that logic extends to energy.

The ambassadors will travel to Japan next.

David Konecký, Czech Republic's ambassador to NATO, poses for a photo in an exclusive interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Czech Embassy in Seoul on April 14. [PARK SANG-MOON]

"In this world around us, there is a premium on alliances — where you have good allies, where you have good like-minded partners," Konecký said. "We considered this group to be an extremely like-minded group with us.

"There is no geographic limitation on security in this world," he added. "If you look at cyberspace, or even at economic security or supply chains — they are global. That's why we are here."