Timed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, President Lee Jae-myung, who visited Ankara, Türkiye, said on the 7th (local time) that Korea and NATO should elevate their ties to a "Korea-NATO defense industry partnership 2.0" that jointly researches, produces, and operates weapons systems.
Lee attended the "NATO defense industry forum" held in downtown Ankara that day. Taking the keynote at the fourth session, held under the theme "shared values, stronger industrial base, expanded partnership and cooperation," Lee said, "The Republic of Korea would like to make several proposals to move toward a safer world together with NATO."
Lee said, "We must boldly expand joint research on advanced technologies," and emphasized, "We should design and push forward more joint research programs, like NATO's cooperation programs in ammunition and space in which Korea participates."
He added, "Just as member states of the International Energy Agency jointly manage strategic petroleum reserves and respond together to energy crises, I hope such wisdom will be demonstrated in the defense industry as well."
In particular, Lee explained that the importance of defense industry cooperation is growing amid the current unstable international situation. He said, "The military use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, and robots has become a key factor that decides victory or defeat in war," and noted, "Along with producing weapons, how firmly we maintain global supply chains has become the essence of deterrence."
He continued, "This is why we must discuss cooperation today, in an era when the defense industrial base itself determines a nation's survival," and added, "For cooperation to wield true power, there is something as essential as technology and production capacity: trust. Without the assurance that supply will not be cut off under any circumstances, and the conviction that core technologies will be kept safe, cooperation cannot exist."
Lee said, "On the foundation of such trust, Korea's defense industry has maintained close cooperation with many NATO allies, including Poland, Germany, France, Romania, and Norway, beyond the Atlantic and Eurasia," and added, "Protecting democracy, freedom, and peace is not the task of any one country. Korea will be the most reliable partner."