President Lee Jae Myung, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte shake hands during a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7, on the margins of the NATO summit.JOINT PRESS CORPS
ANKARA, Turkey — Korea and NATO agreed on Tuesday to begin negotiations on a procurement pact that would open the transatlantic alliance’s roughly 15 trillion won ($9.9 billion) annual defense market to Korean companies.
The agreement was reached when President Lee Jae Myung met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss bilateral cooperation on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Seoul’s National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said.
The procurement agreement “sets out the legal and administrative matters needed for defense and munitions cooperation and procurement contracts between NATO and partner countries,” according to Wi. “Once the agreement is signed, it will establish an institutional foundation for our companies to participate in NATO’s joint procurement market, which is expected to be worth 15 trillion won per year,” he said.
NATO member states reportedly expressed interest in the technological capabilities and price competitiveness of Korea’s defense industry during the summit.
“Korea’s participation in the summit is securing a foothold for entering the world’s largest NATO defense market and building a solid defense supply chain with NATO,” Wi said.
Korea will also newly join as an “observer” in NATO’s defense industry and raw materials programs, part of the alliance’s multinational cooperation projects in which member states jointly develop equipment, supplies and capabilities. Korea had previously participated as an observer only in the munitions and space programs.
An observer is a nonmember partner nation granted limited access to participate in NATO’s specialized defense development programs without full voting rights or alliance-wide procurement obligations.
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac holds a press briefing on the presidential trip in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7.NEWS1
“Participation in the multinational cooperation projects, which began around last year’s Hague summit, has expanded to new areas in just one year,” Wi said. “Participation in the munitions, defense industry and raw materials programs will strengthen interoperability between Korean and NATO weapons systems and contribute to broadening the foundation for our companies to enter the NATO defense market.”
The government further plans to push for greater participation by Korean companies in NATO Innovation Ranges, which evaluates and verifies private-sector innovations for battlefield use, and Spacenet, a cooperation network among space companies from NATO member states.
“NATO is accumulating lessons learned on the front lines of the Ukrainian battlefield, where it is experiencing firsthand how advanced technologies like drones and artificial intelligence are shaping the nature of future warfare,” Wi said. “Cooperation with NATO is the surest channel through which our military and companies can gain proven combat experience and technology, building our capacity to respond to future warfare.”
The Korean government also pledged $100 million in comprehensive support for Ukraine during the summit, a step that it framed as part of Korea’s responsibility as a global power to help bring an end to the devastating war and restore peace. A senior presidential office official said Korea’s position on not supplying lethal weapons “remains unchanged.”
“We will continue providing support in other areas,” the official added.
President Lee Jae Myung, right, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shake hands ahead of their summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7.JOINT PRESS CORPS
Separately, Lee held an informal meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, who also attended the summit. The two leaders discussed future AI cooperation between their countries. The topic of Canada’s next-generation submarine program, in which Germany’s TKMS was selected as the preferred supplier over Korea’s Hanwha KSS-III, came up only briefly.
“Regarding the selection of the preferred bidder for Canada’s submarine program, President Lee held a phone call last weekend at Prime Minister Carney’s request, and the Canadian side extended particular courtesy in briefing us on the selection results in advance,” Wi said. “Korea and Canada will continue to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
