Overview
- President Lee Jae Myung landed in Turkey for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused on expanding cooperation in defense and nuclear energy, including potential Korean participation in the Sinop plant and small modular reactors.
- He warned that inter-Korean relations are in a very dangerous state and proposed military talks to clarify the Military Demarcation Line to prevent accidental clashes near the border.
- Lee cited recent North Korean activities near the MDL, including brief crossings and triple barbed-wire installations, as factors raising the risk of unintended incidents.
- He reaffirmed reliance on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and stronger U.S. extended deterrence rather than pursuing a South Korean nuclear weapons program, noting close coordination with Washington and a request that President Donald Trump act as a peacemaker.
- Outlining a pragmatic diplomatic line, he emphasized advancing the alliance with the United States while managing ties with China and pointed to existing Korea–Turkey defense links such as the K9 howitzer and Altay tank program as a platform for deeper projects.