President Lee Jae-myung on the 8th (local time) departed for Mongolia after finishing a visit to Türkiye to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.
Arriving in Ankara the previous day, the president attended the "NATO defense industry forum" held locally and proposed close cooperation between Korea and NATO.
Specifically, he said Korea and NATO should move beyond the current defense industry cooperation focused on the transaction of weapons systems to a "Korea–NATO defense industry partnership 2.0" that jointly researches, produces, and operates weapons systems.
He also said Europe remains unstable because of the war in Ukraine, and that this insecurity must not spread to Northeast Asia.
The president held talks with several leaders. In the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they discussed ways to cooperate for a swift end to the war and for building peace and stability in the region.
In the summit with Norway, the two sides discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in renewable energy and supply chains. In the summit with Romania, they raised strengthening bilateral cooperation in nuclear power and infrastructure.
The president also held a brief meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. At the meeting, despite a Korean company not being selected for Canada's submarine procurement project, they agreed to continue expanding defense industry cooperation based on a comprehensive strategic partnership.
During the subsequent state visit to Mongolia, the president will hold a summit with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. He plans to attend the Korea–Mongolia business forum and the opening ceremony of the Naadam festival.