Lee lays groundwork for entry into NATO's 15-trillion-won defense market

President Lee Jae Myung, visiting Türkiye for the NATO summit, made a concerted push to advance South Korea's defense exports during his stay in Ankara.

South Korea and NATO formally launched negotiations on a procurement framework agreement, seizing on Lee's attendance at the summit as an opportunity to open talks.

The agreement would establish the legal and administrative framework governing logistics and defense cooperation and procurement contracts between NATO and partner nations. Once concluded, it is expected to give Korean companies a foothold in NATO's joint procurement market, valued at 15 trillion won ($9.83 billion) annually.

Wi Sung-lac, director of the National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae, told reporters at a press briefing in Ankara on Tuesday (local time) that the two sides officially launched negotiations on the agreement on the sidelines of Lee's meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "We have secured a foundation for entering the NATO defense market and building a robust defense supply chain," Wi said.

"Once the agreement is concluded, it will create the institutional basis for Korean companies to participate in NATO's joint procurement market, projected to be worth 15 trillion won annually," Wi added.

NATO, whose 32 member states — including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and France — account for 55 percent of global defense spending, is the world's largest defense market. Lee, attending the summit as an invited partner nation, personally championed Korean defense exports in a bid to accelerate the country's goal of becoming one of the world's top four defense exporters.

Wi also said South Korea would join NATO's multinational cooperative program on defense raw materials as a new observer, adding to its existing observer status in the alliance's ammunition and space programs. "The scope of our participation in multinational cooperative programs has expanded further," he said.

"Participating in the ammunition, defense and raw materials programs will strengthen interoperability between South Korean and NATO weapons systems and contribute to stable procurement conditions for Korean military supplies," Wi said.

NATO allies agreed at last year's summit in The Hague, Netherlands, to raise defense spending from 2 percent of gross domestic product to 5 percent by 2035. Should South Korea complete the procurement agreement, Korean defense exports could expand significantly as a result.

Lee also proposed elevating the Korea-NATO relationship to a "Defense Industry Partnership 2.0," under which the two sides would jointly research, produce and operate weapons systems.

Speaking at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in a keynote address for the fourth session, themed "Shared Values, Stronger Industrial Base, Expanded Partnership and Cooperation," Lee said the two sides should move "beyond the current defense cooperation of trading weapons systems to a Defense Industry Partnership 2.0, where we jointly research, produce and operate them."

Lee also held an informal meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country had recently drawn wide attention over a next-generation submarine procurement program worth around 60 trillion won.

The meeting came shortly after Canada selected Germany — not a Korean firm — as its preferred negotiating partner for the submarine contract, lending the encounter added significance.

Wi said Lee and Carney had spoken by phone the previous weekend at the Canadian prime minister's request, and that the Canadian side had briefed Seoul in advance on the outcome of the submarine selection process "with particular courtesy."

"South Korea and Canada will continue to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership," Wi said, adding that at Wednesday's informal meeting the two sides held "serious and substantive discussions on future AI cooperation between the two countries."

Wi drew a line on expectations regarding South Korea's potential status as a "preliminary supplier" for the Canadian submarine program, saying that while opportunities could arise, "it would be difficult to say the prospects are strong."

During his meeting with Secretary General Rutte, Lee also asked for NATO's attention to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"To break the deadlock on the Korean Peninsula, we need to maintain the ultimate goal of denuclearization while pursuing the realistic short-term objective of halting North Korea's nuclear and missile development," Lee said.

Rutte said he hoped to continue consultations on the Korean Peninsula situation and would "look for ways to help."

Lee then joined Rutte for a small-group meeting with representatives of Indo-Pacific partner nations — Japan, Australia and New Zealand — known as the IP4 countries.

Meanwhile, the government announced a comprehensive support package of $100 million for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Lethal weapons are excluded from the package.

On Wednesday, the second day of the NATO summit, Lee is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Norway, the Netherlands and Romania. Whether he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in person is also drawing attention.

There had been speculation that Lee could meet other leaders at a reception hosted by US President Donald Trump, but the likelihood of the reception taking place is now understood to be low.