Polish president to visit South Korea next week for summit with Yoon

Polish President Andrzej Duda will visit South Korea next week to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol for discussions on bilateral cooperation, Yoon's office said Thursday. Duda's state visit, scheduled from Tuesday to Friday, will include a summit with Yoon on Thursday to discuss cooperation on regional and international matters, according to the office. Yoon visited Poland in July 2023 for a summit with Duda, and the two leaders met on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit held in Washington in July. Poland is South Korea's largest trading partner in Central Europe, with bilateral trade growing for six consecutive years, reaching an all-time high of US$10.1 billion last year. In 2022, Poland signed procurement deals worth 17 trillion won ($12.4 billion) to buy K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers to bolster its defenses in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. South Korea recently signed a deal to purchase so-called su icide drones from Poland to counter North Korea's rising threats. Source: Yonhap News Agency