S. Korean, Turkish FMs Discuss Regional Security, Cooperation

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, discussed regional security issues and ways to bolster cooperation in trade, nuclear energy and infrastructure during their talks in Seoul on Thursday, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The meeting was meant to review progress on follow-up measures from the summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held in November. Fidan's visit marked the first trip by a Turkish foreign minister to South Korea in five years, according to the ministry.

"During the meeting, the two sides held in-depth discussions on major security issues, including developments on the Korean Peninsula, the situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine," the ministry said.

They also discussed cooperation in trade and investment, nuclear energy, defense cooperation, infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI), while agreeing to continue close consultations to achieve tangible outcomes at an early date, it added.

Also on the table was how to further expand people-to-people exchanges, including student exchange programs.

Fidan described South Korea and Turkey as "brother countries," a relationship forged through its participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and expressed hope that the two countries would continue close consultations to further strengthen practical cooperation across various sectors.

The ministers pledged to hold a variety of commemorative events aimed at strengthening ties between their peoples as South Korea and Turkey mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the ministry said.