President Lee Jae-myung Expresses Appreciation for Trump's Decision to Reduce ROK-US Drills to Foster Dialogue

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung shared on social media that he sympathizes with U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to create conditions for dialogue on the Korean Peninsula, even if it means scaling back joint ROK-U.S. military exercises. He added that he hopes this will lead to the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue and the establishment of peace on the peninsula.

Reporter Kang Min-up has the details.

[Reporter]

Close to midnight yesterday (the 19th), President Lee wrote on social media that he sympathizes with President Trump's will and efforts to create conditions for dialogue to build a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, even through the reduction of joint ROK-U.S. exercises and field maneuver training, and expressed his respect for that decision.

He also stated that he expects this decision to lead to the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the U.S. and the establishment of a stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

This marks President Lee's first direct mention of President Trump's recent directive to significantly scale down joint ROK-U.S. exercises.

President Lee further wrote that he will do his utmost in the role of a pacemaker to facilitate and contribute to President Trump's pecemaker activities.

He also noted that defense spending is rapidly increasing in accordance with the agreement between the two countries, adding that he fully agrees with President Trump's resolve that South Korea must take responsibility for its own security on the Korean Peninsula.

Regarding free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, President Lee remarked, "We will continue to communicate closely with the U.S. on various practical ways to contribute, just as we have done so far." This appears to be in consideration of President Trump's recent remarks that South Korea declined a request to support Iran's denuclearization.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (local time on the 17th): When I said, "Will you help us a little bit?", "We don't necessarily need help with the Iran issue, but if you want, help us out," (President Lee Jae-myung) said, "I will decline," and turned it down.]

President Lee also stated that he looks forward to reuniting with President Trump in the U.S. before long.

(Video by: Yang Ji-hun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.