President Lee Proposes "Phased Approach" to North Korea in Talks with Trump

President Lee Jae-myung announced today (the 19th) that he discussed the North Korean nuclear issue with U.S. President Donald Trump during their recent meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

President Lee explained, "President Trump brought up the photo he took with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, mentioning that he was the one who posted it on social media. He then said that it was time to pay attention to the North Korean issue," adding, "He asked me how things were going with North Korea during the photo session, which led to a natural conversation."

President Lee conveyed that President Trump remarked, "It is regrettable that we were unable to take possible measures before North Korea realistically possessed nuclear weapons."

In response, President Lee stated, "I made it clear that we should not approach the North Korean nuclear issue in the same way we deal with other countries," adding, "He (President Trump) agreed. However, it seems he is struggling because there is no clear solution."

President Lee continued, "A blanket approach is impossible. North Korea continues to produce nuclear materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons or bombs, and they appear to be in the final stages of developing ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)," and noted that he proposed, "Since a principled approach makes progress impossible, let us divide the goals and approach them in phases."

President Lee elaborated that he focused on explaining that it would be a benefit to the international community if they could first prevent the addition of more nuclear materials than currently exist, ensure that nuclear materials are not exported overseas, and halt the further development of ICBM technology.

President Lee reported that President Trump replied, "That could be one way. I will give it serious consideration."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.