SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- As a Cold War relic, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has faced criticism for maintaining a mentality reminiscent of that period. Therefore, the recent announcement by the South Korean Foreign Ministry to strengthen ties with the military bloc should be taken seriously.
As a U.S.-controlled tool used to instigate confrontation, NATO cannot bring security to South Korea. Instead, by inviting a wolf into its house, Seoul will only harm its strategic interests and endanger regional peace.
NATO, the world's largest military organization, has been known as a political and military weapon for maintaining U.S. hegemony.
The bloc has in recent years steadily expanded its military presence and capabilities in the Asia-Pacific, attracting countries such as South Korea and Japan by marketing security concerns.
The South Korean government has been stepping up trilateral military coordination with the United States and Japan along with security cooperation with major allies, including NATO, said Moon Chung-in, a professor at Yonsei University, in a Hankyoreh newspaper column.
"Ironically, fears about the security situation have only been growing in and around South Korea," Moon said, adding that the current situation foreshadows a return to the precarious security environment of the Cold War era.
Many in the region have voiced strong opposition to NATO's attempted expansion into Asia due to the military bloc's track record.
In pursuit of so-called absolute security, NATO has been conspiring to expand its geographical bounds and eat away at the security space of those outside the organization since its inception in 1949.
Despite its claim of being the defender of a so-called "rules-based" order, NATO has repeatedly ignored the United Nations Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, causing massive humanitarian disasters and economic losses, and displacing tens of millions of people.
For many in the Asia-Pacific, NATO's offensive expansion is an attempt to infiltrate the region for strategic benefits through the troubled pattern of instigating conflicts.
The South Korean administration must realize that expanding collaboration with NATO is inviting trouble. The bloc's expansion into the Asia-Pacific will only exacerbate regional tensions, sparking conflict and potentially a new Cold War.
The Asia-Pacific region should be a place for common development rather than a geopolitical battlefield. Seeking peace, cooperation, and prosperity is the overall trend in the Asia-Pacific and meets the peoples' interests here. The South Korean government should keep that in mind. ■
