▲ President Lee Jae Myung (L) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte shake hands during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7, 2026, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. (Yonhap)

Lee-NATO chief

Lee meets with NATO chief for talks on enhancing cooperation

ANKARA, July 7 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung met with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral partnership.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of this year's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Lee is attending the summit at the invitation of the NATO chief.

At the start of the meeting, Lee said he was pleased to meet Rutte in person for the first time, while Rutte thanked Lee for his efforts to further strengthen ties between South Korea and NATO.

During the meeting, the two were expected to hold in-depth discussions on ways to expand cooperation and further solidify mutual trust and solidarity.

The two-day NATO summit brings together the leaders of the NATO's 32 member states, along with those of partner nations, including South Korea. The summit is set to end Wednesday.

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