South Korea's Lee Jae Myung to push NATO defense ties in Ankara

Lee Jae Myung will use a July 7 to 8 NATO summit in Ankara to press South Korean defense-industry ties with alliance members as Seoul tries to turn security diplomacy into export opportunities. The trip will be his first NATO summit since taking office, and it comes as South Korea seeks a larger role in a security environment that now stretches beyond Europe and the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said Lee will not be there only for symbolism. He will meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, join a summit session with Indo-Pacific leaders including Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and attend the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, where he is expected to deliver a speech. NATO says the forum will take place on July 7 and that defense-industry production is a central theme of the summit, alongside support for Ukraine.

The summit is unfolding in Türkiye for the second time, after Istanbul hosted NATO leaders in 2004. NATO’s summit page says the alliance is putting industrial capacity at the center of this year’s agenda, and Rutte has framed that emphasis bluntly: “There is no strong defence without a strong defence industry.” For Seoul, that message aligns with a broader effort to strengthen cooperation with NATO members based on NATO standards so South Korean defense-material exports can move more easily into allied markets.

The strategic logic runs beyond Europe. South Korean officials have pointed to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the deployment of North Korean troops to fight for Moscow as evidence that Asian and European security can no longer be treated as separate theaters. Lee’s presence alongside Indo-Pacific partners reflects that shift, as NATO deepens dialogue with countries outside the alliance while those governments look for new industrial and diplomatic leverage.

After Türkiye, Lee will make a state visit to Mongolia from July 9 to 11, his office said, with a summit expected with President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, a joint statement and multiple memorandums of understanding. South Korea sees Mongolia as important for its critical mineral reserves and its ties with North Korea, and the visit will be the first state trip to Mongolia by a sitting South Korean president in 15 years. Together, the stops underline a Seoul strategy that links defense exports, alliance politics and access to strategic resources across Eurasia.