South Korea, Turkey to cooperate in nuclear, defence, infrastructure

SEOUL, Nov 3 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a summit on Tuesday to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and defence, including on one of Turkey'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.

Turkey plans to build four nuclear reactors in the northern province of Sinop and four more in the Thrace region, with South Korea competing for the business. The project is central to Turkey's plans to expand nuclear generation and reduce its dependence on imported energy.

"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.

During Lee's visit to Ankara in 2025, Turkey's TUNAS nuclear energy company and power utility Korea Electric Power Corp signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear energy cooperation.

At a welcoming ceremony for Erdogan on Tuesday, a South Korean army unit performed the Korean martial art taekwondo.

EXPANDING DEFENCE COOPERATION

About 80 officials and executives will attend a banquet after Tuesday's summit, including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and Hyundai Rotem CEO Lee Yong-bae, Lee's office said.

Hyundai has run an automobile manufacturing plant in Turkey, which has a capacity to make around 200,000 vehicles a year, since 1997.

Hyundai Rotem has built most of Turkey's trams since 2008 and is seeking more orders for the country's rail projects.

South Korea and Turkey have major defence industries, and Lee said they would pursue joint defence exports to third countries, without elaborating.

"The defence 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 Turkey reaffirmed its support for South Korea's policy toward North Korea and the leaders agreed to coordinate strategically on peace on the Korean Peninsula.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Sharon Singleton)