Divya Delhi:   Seoul, Feb 18 Chung Mong-Joon, founder and honorary chair of the Asian Institute for Policy Studies and a former South Korean politician, has proposed an Asian NATO and redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea to boost regional peace and security. “The United States and its allies and partners also need to show credible resolve to deter North Korean, Chinese and Russian military adventurism. We need an Asian version. We may call it the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organisation (IPTO),” leading South Korean daily ‘The Korean Herald’ quoted Chung Mong-Joon as saying at an event at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.Chung further proposed that the US and its allies South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand along with partners like India and Indonesia should improve security cooperation, and guarantee the sovereignty of all countries in the Indo-Pacific, the report revealed. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has joined the NATO summit in Washington for the third time in July 2024 along with other partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Korean President to the meeting, calling South Korea a cherished ally and stressing the need for deeper cooperation. North Korea is supplying Russia with arms and military aid to help it wage war on Ukraine. Stoltenberg stated, "We are very worried that Russia will support North Korea's nuclear and missile programs." North Korea's missile and nuclear programs threaten the area and the world. He continued, "This shows how Indo-Pacific and European security are linked." Chung was a seven-term member of South Korea's National Assembly. He was a 2002 presidential contender and the Grand National Party's (governing party) chairman from 2009-2010. He was also FIFA's vice president and co-chair of the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.