South Korea and Turkiye Agree at Seoul Summit to Expand Nuclear and Defense Cooperation
Seoul — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a summit in Seoul on Tuesday, November 3, to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and defense, including on one of Turkiye's biggest power projects, Lee told a joint press conference. The two leaders also agreed to work closely in infrastructure, biotechnology, and critical minerals.
Erdogan is on a three-day state visit to South Korea from November 2 to 4, his first visit to the country since 2018. An official welcoming ceremony preceded Tuesday's summit, at which a South Korean army unit performed taekwondo. Erdogan said the two sides discussed raising bilateral trade from $11 billion to their previously agreed target of $15 billion, as well as updating their free trade agreement.
Nuclear power topped the agenda. Turkiye plans to build four reactors in the northern province of Sinop and four more in the Thrace region, and South Korean firms are competing for the business. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency before the visit, Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing the Sinop project. During Lee's visit to Ankara in 2025, Turkiye's TUNAS nuclear energy company and Korea Electric Power Corp signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear cooperation.
The meeting is the leaders' second in about four months: they met at the NATO summit in Ankara in July, and Lee made a state visit to Turkiye last November. About 80 officials and executives attended the state banquet after the summit, including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and Hyundai Rotem CEO Lee Yong-bae, according to Lee's office.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：韩国总统李在明（资料图）。照片 CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (file photo). CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
