Turkey's Erdogan proposes South Korean partnership in nuclear power, AI, defense

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing Turkey's planned Sinop nuclear power station, and identified defense, semiconductors, AI, and robotics as potential areas for cooperation. He is on a state visit to Seoul and will hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said South Korea could become a partner in developing Turkey's planned Sinop nuclear power station, according to an interview with Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday. Turkey has been studying the technical and economic terms of the Black Sea project with state-run Korea Electric Power Corp, Erdogan said. Ankara would weigh financing, electricity costs and benefits to the Turkish economy before choosing a partner. Erdogan is due in Seoul on Monday for a three-day state visit, his first to South Korea since 2018. He will hold a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday. In the interview, Erdogan also identified defense, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics as potential areas for cooperation and called for more South Korean investment and joint production in Turkey. He said the countries were working towards a $15 billion bilateral trade target, while calling for efforts to address an imbalance in South Korea's favor. He invited South Korean companies to participate in Turkish transport and logistics projects linking Asia and Europe.