FM Cho to visit Turkey, Belgium for bilateral, EU talks

▲ Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (C) speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Jan. 20, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

FM-Turkey-Belgium

FM Cho to visit Turkey, Belgium for bilateral, EU talks

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit Turkey and Belgium later this week for bilateral talks with each country and a strategic dialogue with the European Union, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

His four-day trip will begin in Turkey, where he is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday (local time), the ministry said.

The upcoming talks come as a follow-up step after President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to the country in November last year, deputy ministry spokesperson Lee Moon-bae said in a press briefing.

"(The ministers) will discuss the progress in key bilateral projects, including nuclear energy, the defense industry, bio and infrastructure," Lee said.

Cho will then travel to Belgium and hold the second strategic security dialogue with Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Thursday.

South Korea and the EU elevated ties to a "strategic partnership" in 2010 to deepen cooperation from security, defense and the economy to trade and science and technologies. The two sides launched the strategic dialogue in late 2024.

"The two ministers will have broad discussions on the South Korea-EU relations and exchange opinions on regional issues, including the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine," Lee added.

While in Brussels, Cho also plans to hold bilateral talks with David Clarinval, Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister of labor, economy and agriculture.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved