South Korea and Turkey agree to enhance cooperation in nuclear energy and defense

South Korea and Turkey agreed to enhance their cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy and defense during a summit between their presidents on Tuesday in Seoul.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference that the documents signed by both sides in the nuclear energy sector, building on a previous memorandum of understanding (MoU), “will further strengthen this cooperation.”

The MoU signed in November 2025 laid the groundwork for cooperation on a nuclear power plant project that Turkey plans to build in Sinop, with South Korean companies seeking to participate.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said both sides agreed that “cooperation on Turkey’s Sinop nuclear power plant project is proceeding smoothly.”

He added that the two sides signed another MoU on Tuesday “regarding cooperation in financing nuclear energy projects, with the aim of supporting the participation of South Korean companies from the earliest stages.”

In the defense sector, Lee said the two countries agreed to “enhance defense cooperation by expanding joint production and technological cooperation, and also exploring opportunities that allow companies from both countries to enter other countries’ markets together,” without going into details.

Erdogan pointed out Turkey’s interest in South Korea’s expertise in semiconductors and other technological fields, singling out defense as an area “where our strategic partnership has yielded tangible results.”

He said, “I emphasized during my meeting with the President the need to increase the number of successful joint projects.”

Erdogan described the nuclear energy agreement reached last year as “an important foundation for our cooperation” in this field.

Trade volume between Turkey and South Korea reached a record high of $10.7 billion last year. The two countries are linked by a free trade agreement that entered into force in 2013.