President Yoon Suk Yeol, on a state visit to the Netherlands, on Dec. 13 said both countries ¡°reaffirmed their commitment to build a semiconductor alliance encompassing the participation of governments, businesses and universities.¡±

He and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced this at a joint news conference after their bilateral summit.

¡°The Netherlands, the world¡¯s largest producer of semiconductor equipment, and Korea, a semiconductor manufacturing power, hold a pivotal position in the global supply chain,¡± the president said. ¡°Our two countries aim to combine each other¡¯s strengths to maximize the effect and value of semiconductor cooperation.¡±

On the occasion of President Yoon's trip to the Netherlands, the two countries signed three memorandums of understanding (MOU) and launched three dialogue bodies on semiconductors and economic security.

¡°We concluded an MOU on cooperating in a cutting-edge semiconductor academy and jointly fostering future generations in the semiconductor sector and another on collaborating in core items to supplement supply chain weaknesses in strategic industries like semiconductors,¡± he said. ¡°We also launched the Korea-Netherlands Semiconductor Dialogue for related policy cooperation by industrial authorities of both countries.¡±

The two leaders agreed that the ¡°state visit forms a stepping stone to further improve their bilateral relations, based on the SPA (Strategic Partnership Agreement). The concrete steps, initiatives and agreements in political, defense, security, socio-economic, cultural, regional and multilateral domains will contribute to the SPA¡¯s continued implementation.¡±

Adopted at the summit, the statement said, ¡°As geopolitical partners the ROK (Republic of Korea) and the NL (Kingdom of the Netherlands) are committed to strengthening their cooperation in areas like economic security and the law of the sea, with a view to contributing to global peace, prosperity and security, and to promoting Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic partnerships.¡±

On cooperation in national defense and the defense industry, the two countries ¡°welcomed increased cooperation in defense and security issues, and especially welcomed, in this regard, the MOU on Defense Cooperation. They looked forward to setting up a Joint Material Committee on Defense Technology and Industry as announced in the DAPA-COMMIT MOU signed in June 2023. The NL welcomed the ROK as an observer of the Joint Project Optic Windmill 2025 military exercise.¡±

Turning to the energy sector, both sides ¡°agreed to maintain and further develop bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy topics such as construction and operation of nuclear power plants; workforce development; nuclear fuel; safety; and innovation of gigawatt-scale nuclear reactors, small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear reactors.¡±

The statement added that Seoul and Amsterdam ¡°recognized that carbon-free energy sources and energy carriers including nuclear, renewables and hydrogen are imperative to achieving carbon neutrality and enhancing energy security.¡± To this end, they reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation.