Klaus Iohannis starts visit to South Korea, visits the demilitarized zone

President Klaus Iohannis began his official visit to South Korea on Monday. Together with his wife, Carmen Iohannis, the head of state laid a wreath at the National Cemetery in Seoul, and then visited the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea, according to images published by the Presidential Administration.

“My official visit to the Republic of Korea began today, at the National Cemetery in Seoul. We paid tribute to the war victims in South Korea, honoring their sacrifice for freedom, peace and democracy,” Klaus Iohannis said on the X network.

On this first day of his visit, Klaus Iohannis also visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). “Today I also visited the demilitarized zone and received a briefing from UNC/CFC/USFK Commander General Paul LaCamera on security challenges,” Iohannis added.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a strip of land that crosses the Korean Peninsula, with a length of 250 kilometers and a width of 4 kilometers, which functions as a buffer zone between South Korea and North Korea. The DMZ was established in 1953, when the Korean War was suspended as a result of the armistice agreement between North Korea, China and the United Nations Command, and North and South Korea agreed to withdraw their armies by two kilometers, with center Military demarcation line. The area has very strict rules, civilian access is permanently controlled and is an attraction for tourists, but also a symbol of the division of a nation.

The Romanian President is making, from Monday to Wednesday, the official visit to the Republic of Korea, at the invitation of his counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol. In this context, several memorandums will be signed in the fields of defense, energy and cooperation in emergency situations. On Tuesday, Iohannis was received by the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, then by the prime minister Han Duck-soo. He will have a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community and the business environment.

Klaus Iohannis said, in a press conference, that the Republic of Korea is a strategic partner of Romania in the Asia-Pacific region, but also a close friend. “The current global crises require increased efforts to defend the rules-based international order on our part, from all of us who share a common vision, regardless of the geographical area in which we are located. Our strategic partnership has concrete results in numerous fields, from the economic to investments, infrastructure, defense or in the energy field,” said Iohannis.

“Considering all this, together with the Korean president we adopted today the “Joint Declaration on the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership Romania – Republic of Korea”, which establishes the main directions of cooperation for the next 10 years, for the benefit of our countries and citizens. We intend to advance defense cooperation, including from the perspective of finalizing the European Union – Republic of Korea Security Partnership negotiations,” he added.

According to Iohannis, through a close bilateral coordination, but also within the cooperation between NATO and the partners in the Indo-Pacific, “we support the efforts to counteract the multiple negative effects of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, of the cooperation between Russia and Korea of North Korea or on North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons. Basically, what we want is a safer and more stable world.”

“We have encouraged the substantial growth of South Korean investments in Romania, especially in strategic areas such as infrastructure, energy and defense. We are also considering cooperation in the field of agriculture, with an emphasis on food and water security or the strengthening of bilateral relations in the field of port infrastructure – between the ports of Constanța and Busan. As a matter of priority, we supported nuclear energy cooperation to facilitate the transition from fossil fuels to green energy sources, to combat climate change and increase our energy security. To this end, in the discussions I had with my counterpart, I mentioned Romania’s openness to the South Korean initiative called Carbon Free Energy”, Iohannis also said.

“I am happy to tell you that in the field of nuclear energy, our cooperation has developed a lot in recent years, especially due to the involvement of the Republic of Korea in nuclear projects in Romania, such as the tritium removal facility at Cernavodă. Equally, we are pleased to cooperate with our partners in the development, manufacture and use of small modular reactor technology, to take concrete steps in fulfilling Romania’s goal of becoming a hub in the field”, he continued.

“It is with this interest that I inform you that tomorrow I will pay a visit to the production complex of Doosan Enerbility in Changwon to deepen the aspects of green energy opportunities,” the president added.

The official delegation accompanying the President of Romania to Seoul also includes members of the Romanian Government – the Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja and the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat.