Lee voices hope to elevate ties with France to strategic partnership during talks with Macron

JOHANNESBURG -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed his hope to elevate the bilateral relationship with France to a "strategic partnership" and deepen cooperation in culture, security, technologies and other fields, as he held a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron in South Africa on Saturday. Their meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg followed their encounter during the Group of Seven summit in Canada in June, as the two nations prepare to celebrate the 140th anniversary next year of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. "I hope to upgrade the two countries' bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership and bolster cooperation across various fields, including culture, the economy, security and cutting-edge technologies," he said. Lee expressed his appreciation for France's deployment of troops to support South Korea when North Korea invaded the South during the 1950-53 Korean War, while nothing that the French Revolution had a sizable effect on the development of South Korea's democracy. Macron said that France hopes to expWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times