South Korea’s Lee meets NATO chief on sidelines of Ankara summit

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday held his first meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the alliance’s summit hosted by Türkiye, where the two discussed ways to strengthen ties between Seoul and NATO.

Lee said he was pleased to meet Rutte in person for the first time, while Rutte thanked the South Korean president for his efforts to deepen ties between Seoul and NATO.

The summit in Ankara is bringing together leaders of the 32-member alliance, as well as key partners, to discuss Europe’s defense capacity, NATO’s defense spending targets, military modernization and continued support for Ukraine.

Although they are not NATO members, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have been invited to the alliance’s annual summits as guests since 2022.

The Ankara meeting marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 Istanbul summit. The gathering also provides a platform for bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied countries on political, security and economic cooperation.