The Koreas | Diplomacy | East Asia

Lee and Macron Pledge Deeper Security Ties After Paris Summit

South Korea and France agreed to advance defense cooperation and coordinate on Hormuz Strait security following a summit in Paris.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and French President Emmanuel Macron wave before entering Élysée Palace for a summit, Paris, France, Sep. 8, 2026.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on September 8 to deepen defense cooperation and coordinate on securing free passage through the Hormuz Strait. Their summit was the centerpiece event of Lee’s two-day state visit to France, which also produced new agreements on artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and trade.

Lee laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe and took part in an official welcome ceremony before a one-on-one lunch with Macron at the Élysée Palace. An expanded summit followed, and the two leaders then addressed reporters together.

“We agreed to achieve a genuine leap forward in defense and security cooperation in order to jointly respond to the uncertainties of the international order,” Lee said in the joint press conference after the summit, adding that the two governments would move quickly toward signing a reciprocal military logistics support agreement. South Korea and France also signed an amended protocol to their existing pact on protecting military secrets, expanding the list of French officials with access to classified material and tightening rules on its handling.

Hormuz Strait security featured prominently in the talks.

“South Korea and France agreed to continue close coordination so that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the stability of global supply chains can be restored as soon as possible,” Lee said.

Meanwhile, Seoul officials cautioned that the discussion should not be read as a decision on troop deployment. South Korea has been weighing a range of contributions, including military options, but officials say no decision has been made. Any deployment, even of a small number of personnel, would require National Assembly approval under South Korean law.

On the economic side, Lee said the countries agreed to pursue $20 billion, or about 27 trillion won, in two-way trade by 2030. Roughly 20 Korean and French companies took part in a business roundtable on new investment opportunities, and trade promotion agencies KOTRA and Business France signed a cooperation document meant to expand support for companies entering each other’s markets.

The visit also produced a private investment agreement between Samsung Electronics and French AI startup Mistral, announced alongside government-level memorandums on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and quantum technology. Samsung led a 3 billion euro funding round for Mistral, valuing the company at more than 21 billion euro. The investment gives Samsung a strategic stake as the two work on an in-house AI model for the Korean firm’s chipmaking operations.

Nuclear cooperation advanced too. Lee said the countries would sign further documents on nuclear research and fuel supply to push forward next-generation reactor development and diversify long-term supply chains, building on a nuclear fuel cycle cooperation agreement KHNP and French firm Orano signed during Macron’s April visit to Seoul. The two governments also agreed to open a high-level dialogue channel for private-sector nuclear cooperation.

Biotechnology cooperation also expanded. The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology signed three memorandums of understanding with French research institutions and companies covering eco-friendly materials, climate-resilient crops, and quantum-computing-assisted drug discovery, agreements Lee said would help Korean biotech firms gain a foothold in the European market.

Lee added that the two sides modernized a bilateral aviation agreement dating to 1974, concluding talks that began in 2016. The........

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