Seoul, June 24 (IANS): South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik on Monday called for expanding security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), saying it will strengthen Seoul's war deterrence capabilities.

Shin made the remarks after South Korea was invited to this year's NATO summit in Washington next month for the third straight year amid growing ties between Seoul and the 32-member alliance, reports Yonhap news agency.

"I believe the more we deepen security cooperation with NATO, the stronger our war deterrence will become," Shin told reporters. "Expanding cooperation with NATO is the right direction."

Shin said if South Korea were to face a "serious security concern," he believes NATO countries would "surely" provide support, noting that many of the countries that sent troops to back South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War were NATO members.

Seoul has recently made efforts to strengthen ties with NATO, with President Yoon Suk Yeol pledging to increase military information sharing with NATO during a summit involving the alliance's member states and partner nations in Vilnius last year.