U.S.-China clash over NATO participation, including South Korea... US 'no veto power'

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United States and China clashed over the issue of South Korea and Japan attending the NATO summit to be held in Spain next week.

The US countered that China had no veto power.

This is Reporter Junmo Moon.

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The NATO summit to be held in Madrid, Spain on the 29th and 30th will also be attended by leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, who are not NATO members.

China did not hide its displeasure at the presence of leaders of Indo-Pacific countries in the US-led NATO.

[Wang Wenbin / Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China: The Asia-Pacific region is not a geographical category of the North Atlantic Ocean.

The countries and peoples of the Asia-Pacific region resolutely oppose any word or action that invites military groups to incite division and opposition.]

Wang said, "NATO is clearly a North Atlantic military organization, We are trying to duplicate it," he warned, "do not disturb the Asia-Pacific region and the world."

Then, this time, the United States was furious.

White House NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby, when asked at a briefing that China opposes South Korea's participation, responded, "China has no veto on which meetings South Korea will participate in."

He explained that this meeting was not meant to create an Asian version of NATO, but merely to show that global security is connected between Europe and Asia-Pacific.

On the other hand, when asked if a Korea-US-Japan summit would be held during the NATO summit, Coordinator Kirby declined to answer immediately, saying, "I have nothing to say yet."