Korea, Turkey agree to boost cooperation in defense, nuclear energy as Lee's overseas tour ends
Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 20:56
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, greets Korean War veterans during a visit to the Korean Park in Ankara on Nov. 25, during a two-day state visit to Turkey. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/25/1ca6372e-a8bb-40b5-acf4-3e74c89c0215.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, greets Korean War veterans during a visit to the Korean Park in Ankara on Nov. 25, during a two-day state visit to Turkey. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday wrapped up a whirlwind 10-day, four-country tour to the Middle East and Africa with a state visit to Turkey, where he agreed to boost cooperation with the Eurasian power in defense, nuclear energy and the economy.
Lee and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following their bilateral summit on Monday in Ankara, released a joint statement covering cooperation in economy and industry; science, technology and innovation; the defense industry; energy, environment and sustainable growth; and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
In the joint statement, titled "A legacy of brotherhood, a vision for the future," the leaders underlined their support to "advance overall cooperation in the field of nuclear energy and recognize its potential to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two countries."
During Lee's visit, Korea and Turkey signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, veterans' affairs and infrastructure.
Korea is keen to take part in Turkey's plan to build its second nuclear power plant in Sinop on the Black Sea coast, with the MOU establishing a basis for Seoul's participation in the initial stages, such as site evaluation, which may aid state-run Korea Electric Power in its bid to secure the contract.
![President Lee Jae Myung, center, pays tribute at a Korean War memorial at the Korean Park in Ankara on Nov. 25, during a two-day state visit to Turkey. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/25/24e2430d-3b50-41d3-b6d4-ab035a2829c1.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center, pays tribute at a Korean War memorial at the Korean Park in Ankara on Nov. 25, during a two-day state visit to Turkey. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
On Tuesday, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung visited Korean Park, a Hyundai Motor-funded memorial located in Ankara, built in remembrance of Turkish soldiers who died in the 1950-53 Korean War. The event, which included the laying of wreaths and a silent tribute, was attended by four Turkish veterans and 13 family members of fallen soldiers. Lee later met with Korean residents living in Turkey, concluding his itinerary in Ankara.
This marked the first state visit to Turkey by a Korean leader in 13 years.
Lee was set to return to Korea on Wednesday. He earlier visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and South Africa for the G20, or Group of 20, summit.
During his visit to Abu Dhabi, Lee and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan oversaw the signing of seven MOUs across sectors including AI, nuclear energy, aerospace and health care.
Some of Lee's notable achievements included Korea's announcement of its participation in the Stargate UAE project to build a massive new AI data center cluster in Abu Dhabi, with an initial global investment of some 30 trillion won ($20.5 billion).
Korea and the UAE also agreed that defense cooperation should advance beyond simple exports and purchases to joint production and exports to third countries.
![President Lee Jae Myung, front row left, claps with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, front row right, during an MOU signing ceremony for nuclear energy cooperation at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey on Nov. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/25/ae25b116-29f9-429e-984a-61dd67df47e0.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, front row left, claps with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, front row right, during an MOU signing ceremony for nuclear energy cooperation at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey on Nov. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
In Egypt, Lee said he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed to work together as "facilitators of peace," contributing jointly to international peace, including on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.
Korean companies were also invited to participate in airport expansion and management as part of an estimated $3.5 billion project to modernize Cairo International Airport.
Speaking at Cairo University, Lee unveiled his Middle East vision, the "SHINE" initiative — which stands for stability, harmony, innovation, network and education — and is designed to deepen Korea's engagement in the region.
In South Africa, Lee confirmed Korea's bid to host the G20 summit in 2028.
Through the latest tour, Lee was able to open the door to cooperation in AI, the defense industry and nuclear power through a top-down approach with longstanding Middle Eastern leaders.
In a press conference on Monday, Lee said that his state visit to the UAE last week "produced the most concrete results." He hinted that he would like to see more arms projects, such as the development of Turkey's Altay battle tank program, in which the Korean defense company Hyundai Rotem is a partner.
Lee indicated that the "actual results of cooperation with the UAE will be announced soon."
![President Lee Jae Myung, second from left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, left, chat with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second from right, and his spouse, Emine Erdogan, right, at an official dinner at the presidential palace in Ankara on Nov. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/25/3a5d404f-f0ea-4b26-b6b7-3b58e09aabe2.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, second from left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, left, chat with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second from right, and his spouse, Emine Erdogan, right, at an official dinner at the presidential palace in Ankara on Nov. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Likewise, during his summit meeting with Erdogan on Monday, Lee emphasized that "the two countries agreed to continue joint production, technological cooperation and training exchanges" in the defense industry.
There is growing anticipation that such cooperation will go beyond simple arms exports to the region to joint development and production of major weapons systems.
Such systems could include the Korea Aerospace Industries' KF-21 4.5-generation multirole fighter jets, Hanwha Aerospace's L-SAM long-range surface-to-air missile systems and K9 self-propelled howitzers, and Hyundai Rotem's K2 main battle tanks.
The Middle East and Africa have become major markets for Korea's arms exports, driven by the region's rapidly expanding market size. Korea has already exported K9 howitzers to Turkey and Egypt, the Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers to the UAE and Saudi Arabia and the Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile defense system to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Lee's return to Seoul effectively marks the end of his scheduled multilateral diplomatic agenda for this year after taking office in June.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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