President Lee Jae-myung presided over the MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, Australia) leaders’ meeting on the 22nd (local time) at the G20 summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa. From the left in the photo are Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Vice President of Indonesia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, President Lee, Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, and Edgardo Amador Zamora, Mexico’s Secretary of the Treasury.
President Lee stated on the 23rd (local time), prior to his state visit to Turkey, that “Turkey is a strategic partner that pursues global-scale innovation, investment, and competition together with Korea.” He expressed a willingness to cooperate in areas such as defense and nuclear energy. President Lee emphasized, “Reunification remains our ultimate goal,” and added, “We are ready to engage in dialogue with North Korea at any time and through any channel.”
In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, President Lee revealed directions for bilateral economic cooperation and plans regarding North Korea. He noted that the two countries have complementary industrial structures, forming a seamless supply chain in technology, production, and sales. Korea has advanced technology and precision manufacturing competitiveness, while Turkey offers a production base and market connectivity linking Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Using the defense industry as an example, President Lee said, “A key example of bilateral defense cooperation is the Altay main battle tank production program.” Turkish-developed Altay tanks include key components such as Korean-made engines and transmissions used in the K2 Black Panther tank. He expressed the hope that cooperation in the defense sector would continue to expand based on mutual trust. President Lee aims to broaden the scope of collaboration to future-oriented industries including nuclear energy, biohealth, digital transformation, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence (AI).
President Lee also expressed a clear intention for Korea to participate in Turkey’s ongoing ‘Sinop Nuclear Power Plant Project.’ He stated, “Based on Korea’s world-class nuclear power technology and safe operational capabilities, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to enhancing Turkey’s nuclear power capabilities.” Additionally, he conveyed that as Turkey develops its roadmap for the introduction of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), Korea is ready to share related governance and explore future cooperation possibilities.
Reaffirming the goal of reunification, President Lee noted, “This is not just an ideal vision, but also a responsibility stipulated in the Korean Constitution.” He emphasized that they do not seek unilateral reunification but pursue gradual and phased reunification that reflects the democratic will of all constituents in the Korean Peninsula, striving for peaceful coexistence and mutual development.
Regarding the current inter-Korean relations, President Lee mentioned, “All communication channels have been severed, and mutual trust has been significantly damaged.” He underscored that reopening dialogue is among his top priorities and reaffirmed that “We are ready to engage in dialogue with North Korea at any time and through any channel, with the door for dialogue remaining open.”
After concluding his schedule at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, President Lee is heading to Ankara, Turkey.