Turkish, South Korean foreign ministers meet in Ankara

ISTANBUL

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Wednesday South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who is on an official working visit to Türkiye.

The meeting took place in Ankara, according to a post shared by Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

The post included photos from the meeting, without any further details.

Türkiye-South Korea relations

Political relations between the two countries date back to Aug. 11, 1949, when Türkiye recognized South Korea as an independent state. Diplomatic ties were formally established in 1957.

Türkiye was among the first countries to send troops in support of South Korea during the Korean War, which began in 1950, in line with a UN Security Council resolution. Nearly 23,000 Turkish soldiers served in South Korea during the war and the years that followed.

Bilateral relations were elevated to the level of a strategic partnership in 2012.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung paid an official visit to Türkiye last November. During that visit, three agreements were signed, and a joint declaration on the nations’ strategic partnership was issued.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last visited South Korea in 2018.

South Korea is Türkiye’s second-largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region after China. Bilateral trade volume reached approximately $10.3 billion in 2024, and the two countries are linked by a Free Trade Agreement.