South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yeol is visiting Poland and France consecutively to explore diplomatic and security cooperation with European nations.
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Minister Cho will depart for Poland on the same day at the invitation of Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. This marks the first official visit by a South Korean foreign minister to Poland in 18 years.
Minister Cho will hold a South Korea-Poland Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Wednesday. The two ministers will discuss ways to advance their strategic partnership, focusing on key defense, energy, and infrastructure sectors. They will also exchange views on major international issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine.
Defense cooperation is expected to be a key agenda item at the meeting. Since signing a $44.2 billion comprehensive defense contract in 2022 for K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, and FA-50 light attack aircraft, the two countries have been sequentially executing delivery contracts.
Attention is now on whether discussions will include a second-phase execution contract for 180 additional K2 tanks. The $7 billion second-phase contract was initially expected to be finalized in 2024, but negotiations have faced delays.
Cho Hyun Ki, Director of the Force Enhancement Program at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), visited Poland on January 20–21. He met with officials from Poland’s Ministry of National Defense and defense companies to discuss the stable execution of the second-phase contract and broader defense cooperation. A DAPA delegation will accompany Minister Cho during his visit.
During his stay in Poland, Minister Cho will meet with President Andrzej Duda, inspect Mińsk Mazowiecki Air Base, and attend a meeting with South Korean business leaders in Poland.
After completing his visit to Poland, Minister Cho will travel to France on Friday. He will hold the 5th South Korea-France Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot there.
Minister Cho and Minister Barrot will review ongoing strategic cooperation in defense, space, and artificial intelligence (AI) and discuss ways to deepen and expand these partnerships further. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they will also exchange views on major regional and international issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine.
Analysts suggest that Minister Cho’s visit comes at a crucial time following Trump’s second term inauguration. It presents an opportunity to broaden dialogue with European nations that may have differing views from the U.S. on ending the war in Ukraine. European countries are concerned about a scenario in which the war is unilaterally concluded through U.S.-Russia negotiations, excluding European interests.