Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Navy Chief of Staff discusses ways to strengthen maritime security and defense industry cooperation with the Commander of the Turkish Navy

- On February 25, the Navy Chief of Staff held a bilateral meeting with Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, the commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, at the Navy headquarters

○ On February 25, Chief of Naval Operations Yang Yong-mo hosted an honorary guard ceremony at the Navy headquarters for Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, the commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, during his first visit to Korea, followed by a bilateral meeting. This marks the sixth official visit by a Turkish Navy commander to Korea and the first visit by Admiral Tatlıoğlu.

○ During their bilateral talks, Chief of Naval Operations Yang and Admiral Tatlıoğlu discussed strengthening naval military diplomacy, enhancing defense industry cooperation, advancing manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) combat systems, reinforcing multi-domain maritime security cooperation, and expanding high-level exchanges, personnel training, and educational collaboration between the two navies.

○ Since 2008, the Republic of Korea and Turkey have maintained close naval cooperation through annual meetings. The recent visit by the Turkish Navy commander further reinforced their bilateral relationship, with a focus on maritime security and defense industry collaboration.

○ On February 24, Admiral Tatlıoğlu met with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo to discuss bilateral defense ties prior to his meeting with the Navy Chief of Staff.

○ After concluding his schedule at the Navy headquarters, Admiral Tatlıoğlu visited the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan to pay tribute to the fallen Turkish soldiers who fought alongside Korea during the Korean War. Turkey contributed around 21,000 troops to Korea during the Korean War, and 462 of their soldiers were laid to rest at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

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