LONDON (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for talks on Wednesday and sign an agreement stepping up cooperation in defence, security and technology.
Yoon, on a state visit to London, and Sunak will sign a Downing Street Accord which will also involve them working together on enforcing U.N. sanctions on reclusive North Korea.
Ministers are launching talks over a new free trade agreement and agreeing to a partnership on clean energy, while a range of investments have been announced, including plans for wind farm projects in South Korea from offshore wind firm Corio Generation and BP PLC totalling $1.16 billion.
A conservative, Yoon has cited a “polycrisis” of global challenges as a reason for seeking closer ties with like-minded partners.
Britain rolled out the red carpet for Yoon on Tuesday, with a guard of honour and a coach ride with King Charles to Buckingham Palace, before an opulent State Banquet held in the president’s honour.
On Wednesday, the ceremonial Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace will see the military band play K-pop hits, and at the banquet Charles also displayed his apparent familiarity with the pop genre, praising the environmental work of girl group BLACKPINK, who were in attendance.
“I can only admire how they can prioritise these vital issues, as well as being global superstars,” he said, in a wide-ranging speech where he paid tribute to the countries’ cultural and historic links, and those who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.
“As our nations strive towards a harmony between progress and preservation, between the past and the present, we can look to the future with great confidence as our peoples forge ever closer links.”
South Korea on Wednesday suspended part of a 2018 military agreement with North Korea after it defied warnings from the United States and launched a spy satellite.
The suspension of a clause in the agreement will see South Korea step up military surveillance along the heavily fortified border with the North.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout in London, additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul, editing by Nick Macfie)
