Yoon, Duda seek stronger defense ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Polish President Andrzej Duda agreed to strengthen their bilateral partnership in the fields of defense equipment, carbon-free energy and technology, as Yoon on Thursday received the Polish leader on a state visit to South Korea.

Yoon conveyed Seoul's intention to complete negotiations over the second batch of South Korea's K2 tank exports during a joint press conference after the summit in his office in Seoul.

"The two countries will actively support the signing of the additional K2 tank export deal by the end of this year," Yoon told reporters, referring to a follow-up export deal roughly valued at $7 billion. The first batch of the K2 tank deal was valued at $12.33 billion.

South Korea in 2022 signed a combined $44.2 billion deal to export arms and aircraft to Poland, according to Yoon's office: items such as K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers.

Yoon also reiterated his commitment to increasing humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people and exploring means of peace and reconstruction in Ukraine, by teaming up with Poland, according to Yoon at the conference.

According to Yoon's office, South Korea and Poland will hold a forum dedicated to Ukraine reconstruction cooperation between the two countries. Poland is home to the representative office of South Korea's Ukraine Reconstruction Cooperation Center.

Duda also expressed gratitude for South Korea's continued show of support for Ukraine.

"We thank South Korea for its show of clear stance (about the Russia-Ukraine war) that Russia started the war," Duda said.

The two countries also agreed to boost cooperation over Poland's ongoing nuclear power unit projects, according to the presidential office. Yoon, however, said that their nuclear power cooperation could progress once Poland comes up with a concrete proposal to South Korea.

Duda also expressed his hopes that Polish beef and poultry could be exported to South Korea in the future, during a press conference.

Meanwhile, Yoon condemned North Korea's military cooperation with Russia during a summit held with Duda, saying North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia presents a threat that transcends borders.

Yoon said that North Korea's troop deployment to Russia "is a clear violation of the United Nations charters and the UN Security Council resolutions." Seoul, the US and NATO countries are concerned North Korean soldiers could be deployed to Ukraine to fight against Ukrainian forces at the war front.

"We the two leaders fiercely denounced North Korea's development of nuclear warheads and missiles, its provocations and its illegal military cooperation with Russia," Yoon said.

"Duda and I reached a consensus that North Korea's decision to send troops to Russia poses a security threat to the world, beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe," Yoon added.

He also reiterated Seoul's earlier warning Tuesday that it might take phased countermeasures against the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. An official of the presidential office said Tuesday that Seoul was even considering sending arms to Ukraine should "things go too far."

South Korea will "never tolerate" North Korea's troop deployment to the Ukraine war front line, Yoon said, adding he made it clear during the meeting that Seoul "will take phased steps in cooperation with the international community" depending on the development of the Pyongyang-Moscow military cooperation.

Duda said in the conference that Poland "shows the same amount of concern" for North Korea, as South Korean President does.

When asked what kind of discussion Duda had with Yoon over the North Korean troops spotted in Russia, Duda said he explained the war situation in Ukraine available from Poland's end.

Duda is currently on a state visit to South Korea, for the first time since his predecessor Bronislaw Komorowski's visit in October 2013.

The two countries elevated their diplomatic ties to a strategic partnership in 2013 to expand bilateral ties in the fields of defense, energy, transportation, science, technology and culture.

Yoon and Duda last met on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in July. Yoon and Duda have met four times since Yoon took office in May 2022, including during Yoon's visit to Poland in July 2023.