South Korean President Lee urges Trump to lead North Korea diplomacy

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 summit to take the lead in pursuing a peaceful resolution of tensions with North Korea. Lee’s office said Trump responded that he would work to address the issue.

The request referenced Trump’s three previous meetings with Kim Jong Un – the 2018 Singapore summit, the 2019 Hanoi summit, and the later DMZ encounter – and noted that direct diplomacy collapsed after Hanoi failed to secure denuclearisation commitments. Trump recently posted a captionless photo with Kim on Truth Social, signalling renewed interest in direct talks.

G7 leaders, in a joint statement after the summit, voiced deep concern over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and reaffirmed commitment to the UN Security Council’s denuclearisation resolutions.