President Yoon Suk Yeol from July 10-15 visited Lithuania and Poland. In the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius on July 11, the president attended the NATO summit and concluded the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) for cooperation in 11 sectors after talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. On July 12, the president made an official visit to Poland and attended a summit with President of Poland, Andrzej Duda; they shared the outcome of their talks in a joint news release. This photo essay looks back on both visits.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from right), accompanied by First Lady Kim Keon Hee (right), on the afternoon of July 10 shakes hands with welcoming officials upon arrival at Vilnius International Airport, Lithuania.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee on the evening of July 11 greet heads of state and their spouses at a dinner for NATO leaders at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania. Presidential spokesperson Lee Do Woon said President Yoon at the event requested their support for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo.

At the NATO summit, President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from left) on July 12 poses for a group photo at separate talks with the leaders of Asia-Pacific Four (AP4) member nations -- Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese (left), Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida (second from right) and Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins -- at a hotel in Vilnius. President Yoon called the meeting an opportunity to "institutionalize the NATO cooperation framework and ensure that the AP4 plays a leading role in regional security of the Indo-Pacific region."

President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from right) on July 12 talks with Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson at the annual NATO summit of member and partner countries in Vilnius. In his speech at the event, the president said, "Korea signed the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme with NATO," adding, "We will also expand mutual sharing of military intelligence with NATO."

First Lady Kim Keon Hee (left) on July 12 receives souvenirs from Ukrainian children at an official program for the spouses of NATO leaders at the Ukrainian Center in Vilnius, Lithuania. She pledged to her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska support for Ukraine and the freedom of its people.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 12 shakes hands with Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan at their bilateral summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. They pledged to pursue cooperation in diverse fields including national security, economy and culture. President Yoon held bilateral summits with the leaders of 13 countries on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

On his official visit to Poland, President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from left) on July 13 inspects an honor guard with Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda at an official welcoming ceremony hosted by the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee on July 13 exchange gifts and medals with their Polish counterparts at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland. President Yoon gave the Grand Order of Mugunghwa to President Andrzej Duda, who in return conferred the Order of the White Eagle. Both orders of merit are the highest of their kinds in their respective countries. At an official dinner hosted by the Polish president and his wife that evening, President Yoon said, "In this era of complicated crisis, solidarity for freedom is important to safeguard a rules-based international order," adding, "Let both countries protect the values of freedom and democracy under the spirit of solidarnosc (solidarity)."

President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 13 speaks at a joint news conference with President of Poland, Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. "The two countries have now become indispensable partners in economy, national security, culture and other fields," President Yoon said. "We two leaders will continue close communication based on the shared vision and recognition of our strategic partnership that we reaffirmed today."

President Yoon Suk Yeol on the afternoon of July 13 lays a wreath and pays silent tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, Poland. Honoring fallen soldiers who fought for Polish independence, the monument is visited by foreign leaders on official visits to Poland.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (sixth from left in front row) and First Lady Kim Keon Hee (seventh from left in front row) on July 14 pose for a group photo at the event "Cultural Chat With Young Poles" at the University of Warsaw Library. Congratulating the school on the 40th anniversary of its Korean-language department, the president said, "Our government will actively support expanded exchanges between our two countries' youth."

President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 14 greets vendors at Mirow Halls, a traditional market in Warsaw, Poland.

korea.net