ANKARA — President Lee Jae Myung and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held their first in-person meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Tuesday. The two leaders met after speaking by phone twice — first on July 3, 2025, shortly after Lee took office in June last year, and again on Feb. 10 this year — as the Lee administration seeks to expand defense exports and deepen strategic partnerships beyond Seoul’s traditional allies. Seoul has increasingly looked to NATO, whose member states collectively account for about 55 percent of global defense spending and constitute the world's largest defense procurement market. NATO allies have also committed to a historic increase in defense spending, pledging to raise it to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in response to the changing global security environment. Rutte, speaking through an interpreter, greeted Lee, saying, "It's a great pleasure to meet you in person. Thank you for joining us, and thank you for your special efforts to ensure that relations between South Korea and NATO continue to grow stronger." Lee rep