PRESIDENT YOON SUK YEOL’S FIRST FOREIGN POLICY STEPS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the concept and main directions of the foreign policy of the new South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The procedure for selecting members of Yoon Suk Yeol's team is traced and a description of his election program is given. The government of Yoon Suk Yeol included former associates of President Lee Myung-bak, which indicates the new president’s intention to continue the conservative course of his predecessor. The article presents an assessment of the first foreign policy steps of the new South Korean administration. The content of the US-South Korean negotiations is examined and attention is drawn to Yoon Suk Yeol's intention to expand contacts with Japan and increase their overall pressure on the DPRK. Attention is paid to the plans of the South Korean military regarding the DPRK nuclear project. The position of the Republic of Korea regarding the events in Ukraine is highlighted and the measures taken by the new South Korean administration to support Ukrainian nationalists are explained. A critical assessment of the actions of the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol in relation to Ukraine and NATO is presented. The goals of expanding military-political cooperation between the United States and the Republic of Korea are analyzed, which was reflected in the conduct of joint naval exercises, the participation of the Republic of Korea in a meeting of NATO countries, the intention of the new South Korean administration to join other American military structures in East Asia and avoid participation in the Chinese economic initiative "One belt and one road." It is concluded that the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol intends to subordinate the foreign policy of his country to the interests of the United States, which, in his opinion, will allow the Republic of Korea to strengthen its foreign policy positions and resist the “aggressive intentions” of the DPRK.