President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hold a joint press conference at the presidential office in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)
South Korea and Germany agreed on Sunday to sign a military deal on sharing their military secrets to streamline supply chains involving the two countries’ defense industries.
The summit, which took place at the presidential office in Seoul following the two leaders’ participation in the Group of Seven summit in Japan the same day, is the latest efforts by Yoon to partner with democracies to put checks on North Korea amid its escalating nuclear threats.
“Germany understands the issues involving the Korean Peninsula because it experienced its unification 33 years ago,” Yoon said at a joint press conference.
Hours ahead of the summit, Scholz toured the Demilitarized Zone, which separates the two Koreas, in a show of unity to support Seoul’s push to deter Pyongyang’s aggression.
Seoul and Berlin will expand economic ties as well, Yoon added, saying they would step up trade and investment in cutting-edge technologies involving “hydrogen, chips and clean energy.”
Seoul will also join a Berlin-led initiative for joint action on climate change, according to Yoon.
“Looking back exchanges between South Korea and Germany over the past years, the two countries have seen ties grow over not only common economic interests but people-to-people exchanges,” Scholz said.
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