Macron: ‘Defense Arms Cooperation’, Lee Jae-myung: ‘Nuclear Cooperation’, Takaichi: ‘Multilateralism’
On the 3rd, regarding his summit with President Lee Jae-myung, French President Macron stated that since both countries are major arms manufacturers, they will strive to strengthen defense relations.
President Macron said on the same day, "What we want is to give this cooperation a modern dimension," adding, "Both sides seek to achieve greater strategic depth in military production."
Reuters reported on the 3rd that President Macron strengthened cooperation with South Korea in areas of joint training, production, and critical military capabilities, while Defense Minister Leo stated that the two countries would further expand cooperation in security sectors such as aerospace and defense.
At a joint press conference following their summit on the 1st, President Macron stated, "Both countries share common values, such as an international order based on multilateralism."
Speaking at Yonsei University on the 3rd, President Macron stated, “We are striving to secure the safety of the strait’s shipping lanes and de-escalate tensions in cooperation with relevant countries,” while criticizing U.S. military actions in the Middle East, saying they “are shaking the principles of the international order themselves.”
The Financial Times reported on the 3rd that a container ship belonging to a French shipping company and three Omani oil tankers passed through the disputed Strait of Hormuz and exited the Persian Gulf. The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 3rd that the LNG carrier ‘Sohar LNG,’ jointly owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Line, was helped by Iran to exit the Strait of Hormuz.
The FT reported that the container ship ‘Kribi,’ owned by the French shipping company CMA CGM, was the first vessel operated by a major Western shipping company to safely pass through the strait since the start of the war against Iran.
Regarding the joint statement from the Japan-France summit, the Yomiuri reported that "considering the intensifying economic coercion by China, they expressed 'serious concern' over export restrictions on critical minerals."
The newspaper further stated, "It also included the establishment of a roadmap to strengthen economic security and the promotion of joint projects related to the stable supply of rare earth elements, and specified cooperation in the nuclear sector, including the development of next-generation reactors."
The Yomiuri confirmed the separation of the summit from defense cooperation by reporting that "prior to the summit, the two governments held a Foreign and Defense Ministers' Meeting (2 plus 2) in Tokyo and acknowledged that strengthening security cooperation is essential," and that "Defense Minister Koizumi and Defense Minister Catherine Boatland also met and signed a roadmap to promote defense cooperation." Reuters reported, “President Lee Jae-myung and French President Emmanuel Macron announced on the 3rd that they plan to strengthen defense cooperation and work together to resolve the economic and energy crisis triggered by the war with Iran.”
The report continued, “President Lee emphasized the memorandum of understanding to be signed between Korea’s state-owned Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the French companies Orano and Framatome, stating that this would help lay the foundation for securing fuel supplies for Korean nuclear power plants and jointly entering the global nuclear market.”
Reuters further stated that following the summit, President Lee said, “President Macron and I agreed to share policy experiences and strategies to jointly resolve the economic and energy crisis triggered by the Middle East war,” adding, “The two countries also confirmed their commitment to strengthening energy security, including cooperating to secure safe maritime transport routes through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Reuters also reported, “On the 2nd, President Macron said that launching military operations to forcibly open the strait is unrealistic, after U.S. President Trump urged U.S. allies to reopen the strait.”
Korean media outlets reported that President Lee stated, “The memorandum of understanding between South Korea’s KHNP and the French companies Orano and Framatome will not only ensure a stable supply of raw materials for our nuclear power plants but also lay the foundation for joint entry into the global nuclear market,” adding, “We have established a foundation for the stable development of the core mineral industry through the ‘Letter of Intent for Cooperation in Core Mineral Supply Chains.’ We will further expand mutually complementary cooperation in future security sectors such as space and defense.” Consequently, they uniformly omitted President Macron’s remarks regarding “weapons manufacturing nations,” “strengthening defense relations,” and “military production.”
Yonhap News reported, “The amendment to the ‘Agreement on the Protection of Military Secrets’ includes provisions to strengthen the protection and management of mutually provided military secrets in the field of military and arms cooperation between the two governments.”
The report further stated, “Changes in the secret classification grades of both countries are reflected in the provided information, and provisions have been added allowing for the marking of ‘restricted access to persons other than nationals of both countries’ for specific military secrets.”