❗️South Korea, Turkiye agree to expand nuclear energy & defense cooperation South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a summit on Tuesday to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and defense, including on one of Turkiye's biggest power projects, Lee said. The leaders also agreed to work closely in other areas including infrastructure, biotechnology and critical minerals, Lee told a joint press conference. Erdogan, who is on his first visit to South Korea since 2018, said he and Lee had discussed ways to raise their bilateral trade volume from $11 billion to their previously agreed $15 billion, as well as updating a free trade agreement between them. "Both countries evaluate cooperation for the construction of nuclear reactors in Sinop is proceeding smoothly," Lee said. In an interview with the Yonhap News Agency on Monday, Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing the Sinop project. South Korea and Turkiye have major defence industries, and Lee said they would pursue joint defense exports to third countries, without elaborating. "The defense industry is one of the primary areas where our strategic partnership has yielded concrete results," Erdogan said. "During the meeting, we highlighted the need to increase the number of successful joint projects, such as Firtina howitzers and the Altay tank." Lee said Turkiye reaffirmed its support for South Korea's policy toward North Korea and the leaders agreed to coordinate strategically on peace on the Korean Peninsula.