President Lee Meets Trump: Follow-up Discussions on U.S. Military Vessel Construction

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung, who is attending the NATO summit, has met with U.S. President Donald Trump. This meeting comes three weeks after their encounter at the G7 summit last month, and the two leaders held follow-up discussions regarding the construction of military vessels.

Reporter Kang Min-u has the story.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung, currently attending the NATO summit, met with U.S. President Donald Trump at an official dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the evening of July 7 (local time).

The presidential office stated that the two leaders held follow-up discussions on the construction of U.S. military vessels, a topic previously addressed during the G7 summit last month. They also recalled their promise to play golf made during the G7 and agreed to pursue a visit to the U.S. and a golf outing at an appropriate time.

Prior to this, in his keynote speech at a defense industry forum, President Lee proposed a new partnership that goes beyond simple weapon system transactions, calling for a model of "building together and using together."

[President Lee Jae-myung: I propose upgrading to a 'Korea-NATO Defense Industry Partnership 2.0,' where we research, produce, and operate weapon systems together.]

Following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, negotiations have also begun to establish a 'Korea-NATO Procurement Framework Agreement' to create legal and administrative procedures for participation in the NATO military logistics procurement market.

On July 8, the second day of the summit, President Lee held meetings with the leaders of Norway and Ukraine.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Given the current instability in the international situation, I believe cooperation and exchange between nations are more important than ever.]

He pledged 100 million dollars in comprehensive support to Ukraine, expressing his commitment to participating in peace and reconstruction efforts.

Having presented a new vision for defense industry cooperation at his first NATO summit since taking office, President Lee will soon depart for Mongolia to begin a state visit, the first of its kind in 15 years.

Reported by Ha Ryung | Video by Jang Hyun-ki | Graphics by Choi Jin-hoe | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.