President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a dinner with South Korean nationals in the U.K. at a hotel in London, Monday (local time). Joint Press Corps

LONDON — President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will adopt the "Downing Street Accord" and elevate bilateral relations to a "global strategic partnership," Seoul's presidential office said, Monday (local time).

Yoon arrived in London on Monday afternoon for a state visit to the U.K., and will hold a summit with Sunak on Wednesday to explore ways to expand the two countries' partnership. The visit coincides with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the U.K., as well as the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

The accord, which will be unveiled after the summit between Yoon and Sunak, will stress the two countries' common stance on North Korea's nuclear threats and other issues on the Korean Peninsula. It will also show their commitment to joint responses to global conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.

Upon adopting the accord, the two leaders will elevate their bilateral partnership to a global strategic partnership from the current broad and creative partnership to deepen cooperation in almost all fields.

The two countries will form new defense and cybersecurity partnerships, which will strengthen defense industry and intelligence agency ties. The cybersecurity partnership will bolster the two countries' ability to detect, disrupt and deter malicious actors, while the defense partnership will improve industrial collaboration and supply chain integration, allowing greater defense capability development.

In doing so, the two countries will expand combined military drills and carry out joint sanctions patrols, authorized by the United Nations Security Council targeting North Korea. It will be the first bilateral sanctions action the two nations have conducted together against the North.

To strengthen their supply chain, the two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors, and the leaders will discuss economic partnerships in artificial intelligence, digital technology, nuclear power, space, biotechnology, quantum technologies and clean energies.

"The Downing Street Accord, which upgraded bilateral ties to a global strategic partnership, is the highest possible cooperative document that the two countries can sign," said Kim Eun-hye, Seoul's senior presidential secretary for public relations.

"It is also a measure to comprehensively expand the bilateral partnership to cover not only national security and defense, but also science technologies, supply chains and other fields."

Upgrading free trade pact

Along with the accord, the two countries will launch negotiations for an upgraded free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

According to the U.K. government, it will be "a future-proofed FTA, fit for the technology-driven landscape of the coming decades," and will pave the way for new chapters in digital trade and rules of origin.

"The current relations between South Korea and the U.K. are lagging behind their embedded potential," Kim said. "The negotiation for the upgraded FTA will create a free environment for trade and investment for companies in both countries and will serve as an opportunity to create new wealth."

South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Bang Moon-kyu and the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch will sign an agreement on Wednesday to launch the negotiations.

Signed in 2019, the existing trade pact is the U.K.'s first FTA with an Asian country after its exit from the European Union.

However, there have been calls for the pact, which mainly focuses on opening the commodity and service markets, to reflect up-to-date trade norms and recent developments in the global trade environment.

According to Seoul's industry ministry, the negotiations will focus on improving the resilience of bilateral trade to deal with emerging economic security issues and supply chain disruptions.

As a result, the negotiations will involve streamlining complex trade arrangements for key components and accelerating new investments in the energy, digital and bio industries to make trade relations become more future-oriented and comprehensive.

Preparations for the negotiations will continue until the end of this year and Seoul will host the first round of talks in January.