Vietnam and South Korea ink deals on security and nuclear power

Vietnam and South Korea signed a range of agreements spanning security, tech innovation and the development of nuclear power plants, underscoring deepening industrial ties as the Iran war disrupts energy markets and global supply chains. The two sides agreed to back greater participation by Vietnamese firms in South Korea’s production networks, part of a broader push to build a more self-reliant and resilient economy, General Secretary and President To Lam said after talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Hanoi on Wednesday. « Both countries commit to continuing to facilitate trade and open markets for the import and export of each other’s goods, in order to achieve the goal of $150 billion in bilateral trade by 2030,” Lam said. Sustained Korean investment, particularly in electronics and advanced manufacturing, has helped make Vietnam a critical node in regional supply chains, while Hanoi is leveraging technology transfer and digital cooperation to climb the value chain. South Korea is Vietnam’s number one investment partner, number two source of tourists and number three trading partner, according to the Vietnamese government website. Bilateral trade reached $89.5 billion last year, it said. The 12 agreements include cooperation in the development of nuclear power plants between the Vietnam National Industry — Energy Group, known as Petrovietnam, and the Korea Electric Power Cooperation, as well as a financing agreement for nuclear power projects between Petrovietnam and the Korea Electric Power Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. No value was given for the deals. The visit comes as Samsung Electronics plans a $4 billion outlay to build a chip packaging plant in northern Vietnam, as the country’s largest foreign investor expands its footprint in the country. Samsung’s revenue in Vietnam accounted for the equivalent of 13% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2024, based on data provided by Samsung Vietnam. Samsung and its global peers are expanding at a rapid pace to meet rising demand for chips that go into data centers and gadgets running artificial intelligence services. The South Korean conglomerate was an early investor in Vietnam, building its first factory in the northern province of Bac Ninh in 2008. South Korea has been seeking to expand trade with the Southeast Asian nation to diversify production bases and export markets to hedge against the impact of China’s trade war with the U.S. Ahead of the summit, the two sides discussed cooperation on the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power project and agreed to work closely on resource security and supply chains for critical raw materials, including rare earths, according to a statement from the South Korean trade minister after meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart. Vietnam welcomes South Korean companies to invest in priority sectors including infrastructure development, smart cities, hyperscale AI data centers and semiconductor manufacturing, Lam said. The party chief proposed that both countries seek to strengthen cooperation in AI, as well as tech transfer in the semiconductor and biotechnology industries. By Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen & Nguyen Xuan Quynh – Bloomberg – April 23, 2026

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