▲ President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (L) speak to each other ahead of their summit talks in Brussel on June 10, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ President Lee Jae Myung (2nd from L), accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung (2nd from R), shakes hands with a participant before holding a meeting with members of the South Korean community in Belgium at a hotel in Brussels on June 9, 2026. (Yonhap)

president-Europe trip

Lee heads to Italy after talks with Belgian, EU leaders in Brussels

By Park Boram

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung left Belgium on Wednesday en route to Italy, the second stop in his visit to Europe, where he will hold talks with the Italian president and prime minister.

Lee's departure followed his talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever earlier in the day, followed by a summit with leaders of the European Union -- Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, president of the European Council.

In their bilateral summit, Lee and De Wever agreed to joint efforts to expand investment between their countries in advanced sectors, such as batteries, materials and energy, and also enhance market access for their respective businesses, turning their countries into strategic bases for each other for overseas expansion.

Lee's trip to Belgium, the first leg of his 10-day trip that began Tuesday, came as Seoul and Brussels mark the 125th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year.

In their meeting, Lee and the EU leaders condemned "illegal military cooperation" between North Korea and Russia that they said enabled Russia to continue its aggression against Ukraine, while urging Pyongyang and Moscow to halt all related activities and comply with relevant resolutions by the United Nations Security Council.

The two sides also signed an agreement to launch negotiations for a bilateral information security pact as part of efforts to boost security and defense cooperation.

In Italy, the South Korean president is scheduled to hold a summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday and talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the following day.

He will make a two-day trip from Sunday to the Vatican, where he is scheduled to visit with Pope Leo XIV, before heading to France for the Group of Seven (G7) summit that will be attended by global leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

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