Lee to attend NATO summit in Turkey next week, then visit Mongolia

President Lee Jae-myung will depart Tuesday for Ankara, Turkey, to attend the NATO summit.

Lee skipped last year's NATO summit as the international situation grew urgent amid the armed conflict between Israel and Iran. This will be his first NATO summit since taking office.

Wi Sung-lac, director of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae, told a briefing Thursday that Lee will attend the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara from July 7 to 8 at the invitation of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Lee plans to use the summit to actively pursue defense industry cooperation with NATO member states. Wi said the visit aims to "lay the groundwork for entering the world's largest NATO defense market and building a solid defense supply chain," citing strengthened security, defense and economic cooperation with summit participants and enhanced capabilities to respond to future warfare as expected outcomes.

Lee is scheduled to hold his first in-person meeting with Secretary General Rutte to review the current state of South Korea-NATO relations. He will then join Rutte for a small-group session with representatives from Indo-Pacific partner nations including Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Lee will also attend the NATO Defence Industry Forum, an official summit event, where he will deliver a keynote address and take part in a panel discussion in a session themed "Shared Values, Stronger Industrial Base." He will also attend an official welcoming dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife.

Lee will then travel to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Thursday for a state visit. The itinerary includes a summit with President Khurelsukh, a signing ceremony for agreements and memorandums of understanding, and a joint press statement. Lee will also deliver a keynote address at the Korea-Mongolia Business Forum, a gathering to discuss mutually beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries. He will attend a state dinner hosted by the president, and on the final day will join Khurelsukh as a guest of honor at the opening ceremony of Naadam, Mongolia's largest festival.

Wi described Mongolia as "a strategic hub connecting Northeast Asia and Eurasia, and an important regional partner that is expanding cooperation with various countries," adding that the visit aligns with the government's vision of broadening cooperation with the new northern region and diversifying its diplomacy.