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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday on the sidelines of the alliance's summit in Ankara, with the two leaders discussing defense procurement and ways to deepen ties between Seoul and the 32-member bloc.
Lee said a procurement agreement would give South Korean defense companies a stronger foothold in the NATO defense market, according to a post on X.
He described the encounter as his first in-person meeting with Rutte since taking office and said he was pleased to hold talks on strengthening the bilateral partnership.
Rutte, in a separate post on X, called South Korea "a close partner" of NATO and framed the relationship in broad strategic terms.
"In a more dangerous world, our security is not regional but global and Euro-Atlantic security and Indo-Pacific security are closely linked," he said.
Rutte also thanked Lee for his efforts to deepen the ties between Seoul and the alliance.
Although South Korea is not a NATO member, it has attended the alliance's annual summits as a guest since 2022, alongside Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The four Indo-Pacific nations have been included as the alliance has moved to place greater emphasis on the security links between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Ankara gathering has brought together leaders to discuss Europe's defense capacity, NATO's collective spending targets, military modernization and continued support for Ukraine.
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The Ankara meeting marks the second time Türkiye has hosted a NATO summit, following the 2004 Istanbul gathering.
Beyond the main agenda, the summit is serving as a venue for a series of bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied and partner nations on political, security and economic matters.
South Korea's defense industry has grown into a significant global exporter in recent years, and Lee's remarks suggest Seoul views a formal procurement framework with NATO as a means of consolidating that expansion. No details of a finalized agreement were announced following Tuesday's meeting.
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