By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with President Sadyr Japarov of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is on an official visit to South Korea, at the Yongsan presidential office on Dec. 3, 2024, and signed a joint statement to further develop bilateral relations. A total of 10 intergovernmental cooperation documents were signed in the presence of the two leaders. The Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea and the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Ky
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is on a working visit to South Korea, and exchanged views on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and regional and international affairs on Nov. 28, 2024. President Yoon welcomed President Rinkēvičs' return to Korea as president six years after his visit as foreign minister in 2018, and expressed his pleasure that Rinkēvičs is making his first visit to Asia after taking office. The two leaders appreciated the steady development of friendly and cooperative relations between the
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is on an official visit to South Korea, and exchanged in-depth views on ways to promote bilateral cooperation and the regional and international situation on Nov. 25. The two leaders adopted a Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between Korea and Malaysia, which assessed the remarkable growth of bilateral relations over the past 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1960 and outlined a vision for deepening and expanding coop
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Summit, held a summit with South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa on Nov. 19 to exchange views on practical cooperation between the two countries and regional and global issues. President Yoon congratulated President Ramaphosa on his re-election (June 14) in this historic year when South Africa marks the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid, and expressed his hope that the two countries will continue to strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership that has been streng
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Summit, held a summit with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Nov. 19, and exchanged views on regional and global issues, including ways to enhance practical cooperation between the two countries and countering Russia-North Korea military cooperation. President Yoon evaluated the close communication between the two countries as befits their 'global strategic partnership', including the Korea-UK Summit on the occasion of the NATO Summit in July, the Strategic Dialogue betwee
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young South Korea and Peru have agreed to expand cooperation in the security sector, including joint development of naval vessels, and increase investment and trade in the mining sector to secure key mineral supply chains. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, held a summit with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Nov. 16 and adopted a joint declaration. In the joint declaration, President Yoon and President Boluarte said, “Defense and defense industry cooperation has become a milestone in the develop
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held his second summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Nov. 16 (local time), discussing the situation in Northeast Asia and North Korea's troop deployment to Russia. President Yoon assessed that “close cooperation between Japan and South Korea is more important than ever,” while Prime Minister Ishiba described the situation as “grave.” “Since the first summit (last month), the regional and global situation has been changing rapidly, with military cooperation between Russia and North Korea leading to the deployment of Nor
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol met with outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 15, holding a 10-minute summit. President Yoon met with President Biden on the sidelines of the first session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, followed by a 40-minute meeting between the U.S., South Korea and Japan, and a 10-minute summit between the U.S. and South Korea. “I would like to thank President Biden for his contribution to strengthening the U.S.-ROK alliance and U.S.-Japan cooperation,” Yoon said during the U.S.-ROK summit, emphasizing t
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Lima, Peru, on the sidelines of the 31st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 15 (local time). Xi said that since he and Yoon met in Bali two years ago, there have been many changes in the international and regional situation. No matter how the situation changes, Xi emphasized that China and South Korea should uphold the foundations of diplomatic ties, firmly follow the direction of good-neighborly friendship, and adhere to the goal of mutual benefit and wi
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump by phone on Nov. 7 and congratulated him on his election, the presidential office said. “The phone call between President-elect Trump and President Yoon lasted about 12 minutes from 7:59 a.m.,” Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy chief of the National Security Office, told reporters at the presidential office in Yongsan, adding, ”They agreed to meet in the near future at a date and place to be determined.” Yoon and Trump discussed U.S.-Japan cooperation, the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and North Korea'
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol received the heads of delegations of five Central Asian countries visiting Korea for the 17th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum on Nov. 4, and exchanged views on how to develop Korea-Central Asia relations and major international issues, including North Korea's deployment of its soldiers to Russia. The heads of delegations of five Central Asian countries at the 17th Forum on Korea-Central Asia Cooperation are: - (Kazakhstan) Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs - (Uzbekistan) Bakhtiyor Saidov, Ministe
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol received British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Oct. 21 and exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations between South Korea and the United Kingdom. President Yoon assessed the close high-level communication between the two countries, including the summit with new British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in July, and expressed his hope that the two countries will further strengthen cooperation as “global strategic partners” in various fields in accordance with the “Downing Street Accord” agre
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol spoke by phone on Oct. 21 at the request of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte to share information on the deployment of North Korean combatants to Russia and discuss ways forward. In the calls, the President congratulated Secretary General Rutte on his inauguration (Oct. 1) and said he looks forward to working closely with him to ensure that South Korea and NATO can jointly contribute to security in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic. The President explained that North Korea has gone beyond providing lar
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Laos to attend the ASEAN Summit, held a summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Norman Albanese in Vientiane, Laos, on October 11, and exchanged views on practical cooperation between the two countries and regional and global issues. The President expressed his pleasure at the active high-level exchanges between the two countries and hoped that Korea and Australia, as similarly positioned countries with shared values, would continue to deepen communication and cooperation at all levels based on their 'Comprehensi
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Vientiane, Laos, for the ASEAN-related summit, held talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Oct. 10. The President expressed his pleasure that bilateral relations are developing day by day in line with the 'comprehensive strategic partnership' based on active high-level exchanges, and hoped that the two countries will build on their close cooperation achievements and further expand strategic and forward-looking cooperation in multi-layered fields. Prime Minister Chinh said Vietnam will do its best to continue