By Na Jeong-ju
Staff reporter
Turkish President Abdullah Gul will arrive in Seoul Monday for a three-day state visit, during which he will hold a summit with President Lee Myung-bak to discuss bilateral trade and energy ties, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday.
Gul's visit has a special meaning for South Korea-Turkey relations as Seoul marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, presidential spokesman Park Sun-kyoo said. Turkey dispatched 15,000 troops to assist South Korea in the 1950-53 war.
At the planned summit on Tuesday at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee and Gul will discuss ways to boost trade, cultural exchanges and cooperation on energy, construction and defense industries between the two countries.
The office didn't mention ongoing talks on Korea's export of nuclear power plants to the Eurasian country due to the sensitivity of the issue. Nevertheless, the nuclear cooperation between Seoul and Ankara are expected to be high on the summit agenda.
Turkey and Brazil signed a nuclear deal with Iran last month, despite opposition from the United States. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a fourth set of U.S.-backed sanctions against Iran in the hope of stopping Teheran from developing nuclear weapons.
On the same day, Turkey agreed with Russia to cooperate in the nuclear energy sector at a regional security meeting in Istanbul.
South Korea has been pushing for a $20-billion deal with Turkey that calls for construction of up to four light-water commercial nuclear reactors and, according to reports, a signing is imminent.
At the summit, Lee and Gul will also exchange views on a wide range of regional and international issues, including security conditions on the Korean Peninsula and Seoul's plan to host the G-20 Summit in November, Cheong Wa Dae said.
During his stay here, the Turkish president is also scheduled to visit the National Cemetery and the U.N. Cemetery in the southern port city of Busan as well as meet with National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae.
The U.N. Cemetery commemorates the sacrifice of foreign soldiers who took part in the Korean War.