President Lee Jae-myung met U.S. President Donald Trump during a group photo session at the Group of Seven (G7) summit on Monday and requested his role in seeking a peaceful resolution to the North Korea issue. Trump responded by expressing his intention to work toward resolving the North Korea issue, drawing attention to whether U.S.-North Korea dialogue will advance quickly following the end of the Middle East war.
Kang Yu-jung, the senior presidential spokesperson, said in a written briefing that Lee met and exchanged greetings with Trump during the G7 summit group photo session. Lee, who entered last among the leaders of invited nations, moved to the conference hall together with French President Emmanuel Macron before heading to the photo area, where he was seen chatting with Trump for about 30 seconds.
According to Kang, Trump asked Lee about the recent state of inter-Korean relations, and Lee requested, "Just as President Trump resolved the Middle East war, please also lead the peaceful resolution of the North Korea issue." In response to Lee's request, Trump expressed his intention, saying, "I will work to resolve the North Korea issue."
Although it was a brief conversation, the fact that Trump was the first to mention inter-Korean relations is seen as significant. With the international community focused on follow-up measures after the end of the Middle East war and on ways to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz, the exchange is read as a scene showing that Trump recognizes the North Korea issue as central to his foreign policy.
Lee, for his part, directly requested a "peaceful resolution" of the North Korea issue from Trump, reaffirming the Korean Peninsula peace stance he had emphasized throughout his European tour. While North Korea strongly objected to the condemnation of North Korea-Russia military cooperation and the expression on North Korea's denuclearization included in the recent Korea-EU joint statement, Lee asked Trump to take the "lead" in U.S.-North Korea dialogue, emphasizing the need to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue and diplomacy.
