President Yoon Suk Yeol and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a summit in Seoul on Sunday and discussed ways to boost security and economic cooperation.

The summit came as Scholz visited South Korea after taking part in the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Yoon said Scholz’s visit is all the more significant as this year marks the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Germany and the 60th anniversary of the dispatch of Korean workers to Germany.

The president cited that South Korea and Germany have grown as partners that trust each other and work together in various fields with a long history of exchanges.

Yoon said both South Korea and Germany had achieved remarkable economic development despite suffering the pain of war and division.

He said it is imperative to join and work with a country that upholds freedom as a universal value in the face of various global crises coupled with war, uncertainty in energy security and global supply chains, as well as authoritarian challenges against democracy.

Yoon then expressed hope that South Korea and Germany will further expand their reciprocal and future-oriented cooperation and boost solidarity for the sake of peace and prosperity in Europe and Asia.

In response, Scholz said Germany has been deeply impressed with the economic growth that South Korea has achieved in recent years, adding that he is confident that the two countries will actively advance ties.

The German chancellor said that he personally witnessed what a situation that threatens peace and security looks like when he visited the Demilitarized Zone earlier in the day. He said that he believes the two nations should advance ties more closely given their experience in terms of divided nations.