Lee Jae-myung the president on the 24th (local time) said, "Türkiye is a 'brother country,' and the two countries are blood allies," stressing that he would strengthen solidarity in areas including nuclear power and defense.
On this day, the president held a summit with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye, and stated accordingly through a joint press announcement.
The president said, "This year marks the 75th anniversary of Türkiye's participation in the Korean War and is also my first year in office, and it is very meaningful to visit Türkiye, a brother country with whom we shed blood," adding, "Türkiye had a special relationship even before establishing diplomatic ties with the Republic of Korea, and after establishing ties in 1957, the relationship developed at a rapid pace."
He then said regarding defense industry cooperation, "The two countries agreed to continue joint production, technology cooperation, and training exchanges," adding, "We hope to create more examples of cooperation like the Altay tank project." The Altay tank is Türkiye's tank based on Korea's "Black Panther tank."
On nuclear power, he said, "At the government level, the two countries decided to pay attention and provide support so that the remaining detailed evaluation process for Türkiye's Sinop nuclear power project proceeds smoothly," adding, "We expect Korea's excellent nuclear power technology to make a practical contribution to the development of Türkiye's nuclear power."
On the bio sector, the president said, "We are pleased that Korean corporations SK Plasma will participate in Türkiye's project to localize blood products," adding, "Given that the two countries are blood allies, this project carries even greater significance."
He also emphasized, "We decided to deepen cooperation in cutting-edge science and technology, including renewable energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital," adding, "We expect cooperation in renewable energy to be strengthened, taking the signing of a memorandum of understanding on wind power cooperation between our corporations CS Wind and Türkiye's Enerji company as an opportunity."
The two leaders also agreed to resume, for the first time in 10 years, the Joint Economic Committee to review cooperation by sector. They also adopted the "Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Türkiye," which encompasses the two countries' cooperation plans.
Meanwhile, on the Korean Peninsula issue and the situation in the Middle East, the president said, "We thank President Erdogan and the government of Türkiye for their consistent support for our policy toward North Korea," adding, "We also highly value President Erdogan's efforts to promote peace in the Middle East."