Lee offers $100 million for Ukraine reconstruction in first official summit with Zelensky at NATO

President Lee Jae Myung delivered South Korea’s plan to provide $100 million in aid for Kyiv’s reconstruction in his first summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey on Wednesday.

Zelensky expressed deep gratitude for South Korea's support and emphasized the importance of international solidarity as the two leaders met on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara.

Lee said he hopes for a swift end to Russia’s war on Ukraine and relayed his intention to contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction through the aid package.

At the NATO summit on Tuesday, the South Korean government pledged $100 million in comprehensive support for Ukraine, stepping up as a global power to help bring an end to the devastating war and restore peace.

"Our government will continue to provide the humanitarian assistance needed by the Ukrainian people, while continuing to participate in the international community's efforts for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction,” Lee said in their talks.

However, a senior presidential office official said that Seoul’s refusal to provide lethal weapons to a country at war “remains unchanged.”

The two leaders also discussed the issue of North Korean prisoners of war in Ukraine, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, and agreed to “resolve the matter in a manner consistent with international law and humanitarian principles, while respecting the free will of the parties involved.”

Two North Korean soldiers fighting for Moscow were captured on the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025 and have already expressed their intention to defect to South Korea. While the government has maintained the position that it would accept them as South Korean citizens under the Constitution, discussions have been stalled. 

Lee and Zelensky previously met briefly on the margins of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June last year, shortly after the South Korean president took office, but this marks the two leaders’ first official bilateral talks.

“We have consistently supported Ukraine through various channels, including humanitarian aid, and this pledge of $100 million is an expansion of our contribution in that context,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a press briefing Tuesday. “As a responsible global power, South Korea will continue to contribute alongside the international community so that this horrific war can end as soon as possible and peaceful daily life can be restored.”

The two leaders were also expected to have exchanged information regarding the current situation of the prolonged war between Kyiv and Moscow and North Korean troops deployed to Russia.

Lee also held bilateral talks with NATO leaders including Norway and Romania.

In his summit with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Lee expressed his hopes to expand substantive cooperation with Norway in various fields, including renewable energy, shipbuilding and maritime affairs, and the defense industry.

Norway has previously purchased Korea’s K9 self-propelled howitzer and the Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system.

Lee praised the Norwegian football team’s performance in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and tried Norway’s viral "Viking rowing" cheer.

"I look forward to seeing you row once more," Lee said.

Lee later held a summit with Romanian President Nicusor Dan and emphasized the partnership in the defense and nuclear power sectors.

“I believe it is particularly significant that K9s will be produced locally,” Lee said. Earlier this year, a groundbreaking ceremony for a plant to produce K9 self-propelled howitzers in Romania was held after Korean arms manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace sealed an export deal in 2024.

During a NATO dinner hosted by the Turkish president on Tuesday, Lee was reunited with U.S. President Donald Trump after they last met on the margins of the G7 summit in France last month.

The Blue House said Wednesday that Lee followed up on Seoul's construction of military vessels, a matter Trump had requested during the G7 summit.

Lee conveyed his intention to cooperate fully with Trump's request and introduced Korean companies possessing excellent shipbuilding capabilities.

The two leaders also promised to play golf together, as mentioned during the G7 summit, at the right timing, Kang said.

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, Wi said in a press briefing. 

The framework agreement “sets out the legal and administrative matters needed for defense and munitions cooperation and procurement contracts between NATO and partner countries,” Wi said.

Such an agreement, once signed, will establish an institutional foundation for Korean companies to participate in NATO’s procurement market, which is expected to be worth 15 trillion won per year.  

NATO member states reportedly expressed interest in the technological capabilities and price competitiveness of Korea’s defense industry during the summit, Wi said, noting that through the summit, Seoul is securing a foothold for entering the NATO defense market, which accounts for 55 percent of global defense spending, and building a solid defense supply chain with NATO.

South 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. Seoul previously participated as an observer only in the munitions and space programs.

Joining in the munitions, defense industry and raw materials programs will strengthen interoperability between South Korean and NATO weapons systems and expand opportunities for South Korean companies to enter the NATO defense market, Wi added.

“NATO is accumulating lessons learned on the front lines of the Ukrainian battlefield, where it is experiencing firsthand how advanced technologies like drones and AI are shaping the nature of future warfare,” Wi said, stressing that “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.”

This comes as a Korean consortium led by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost to Germany's TKMS for a massive Canadian submarine procurement project.

A presidential official said that a framework agreement on Procurement with NATO will make it easier for South Korean arms makers companies to enter the defense market, noting that that the failed Canada bid was not due to a lack of technical capability but because NATO is a high barrier in the defense sector.

During his keynote address at the Defense Industry Forum Tuesday, Lee proposed to “elevate defense cooperation beyond the current model of simply trading weapon systems” and move toward a “Korea–NATO defense industry partnership 2.0,” in which the two sides can jointly research, produce and operate defense systems.

“If the stable production capabilities and proven technological prowess of the Republic of Korea, a reliable partner, are combined with NATO’s long-standing know-how, the security capabilities of both sides will be much stronger than they are now,” Lee said.

He pledged Korea “will become the most trustworthy partner” and move forward with NATO toward a “safer world” as a partner in security cooperation dedicated to safeguarding global peace and prosperity.

On Tuesday, Lee held his first in-person meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. They later took part in a meeting of NATO’s Indo-Pacific Four partners, also including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung will begin a state visit to Mongolia on Thursday for the second leg of a five-day, two-country tour.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]