The Republic of Korea (ROK) and NATO are forging a new path in defense cooperation through a four-year plan to develop strategic ties. Launched in 2023, the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) covers 11 priorities — including cyber defense, interoperability, emerging technologies, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense — reflecting a shared recognition that security threats transcend geographic boundaries.
At the core of the growing partnership is the ROK’s deepening integration into NATO’s cyber defense ecosystem. A milestone came in 2022, when Seoul’s National Intelligence Service became the first Asian institution to join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.
The ROK’s participation since 2018 in NATO’s flagship cyber defense exercise, Locked Shields, further underscores Seoul’s growing operational role. The May 2025 edition featured the largest ROK delegation to date, with more than 170 experts from 47 institutions forming a coalition team with Canada.
Such cooperation enhances readiness against shared threats, according to Dr. Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the United States-based Rand Corp. “NATO countries and South Korea face common cyber threats from North Korea, China and Russia,” he told FORUM. “A cooperative approach that improves defenses without involving kinetic conflict makes a great deal of sense.”
The evolving partnership also has built momentum in science and technology. In March 2025, the ROK became one of only a handful of non-NATO members, including Australia and Japan, to join the security alliance’s Science and Technology Organization enhanced partnership program. Seoul now helps shape the 32-member NATO’s research in fields ranging from propulsion to cybersecurity and defense medicine.
Technology collaboration is a critical node in a defense architecture that binds Europe and the Indo-Pacific, Bennett said. “In cyber operations, adversaries look for vulnerabilities, and many NATO and South Korean systems rely on similar underlying technologies. Most countries use common software platforms and operational approaches, which means they face similar threats,” he said.
By focusing on issue-based coordination such as intelligence sharing, joint research and defense exercises, the ITPP framework supports mutual security objectives while preserving strategic flexibility. “The ITPP allows cooperation where it is useful … without binding partners to commitments they may not want,” Bennett said.
As one of NATO’s four Indo-Pacific partners, along with Australia, Japan and New Zealand, the ROK has steadily aligned with the alliance’s strategic objectives, including participating in ministerial meetings, launching high-level cyber dialogues and joining initiatives such as the Malware Information Sharing Platform.
As geopolitical tensions increase, such frameworks are likely to grow in importance. The ROK and NATO members “face common threats, which makes intelligence sharing mutually beneficial,” Bennett said.