[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung, who is visiting New York, held a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss South Korea-U.S. security issues, including the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), as well as North Korea issues. At the UN General Assembly, he emphasized cooperation among the two Koreas, the United States, and China for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Kang Min-u reports from New York.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung held his third summit with U.S. President Trump.

During the 30-minute meeting, the two leaders started with light conversation on topics such as golf and went on to discuss various pending issues, including security and investment in the United States.

[Wi Sung-lac / National Security Adviser: We confirmed our shared commitment to further deepen South Korea-U.S. cooperation in areas such as nuclear submarine fuel, enrichment and reprocessing, shipbuilding cooperation, and the transfer of wartime operational control...]

A senior presidential official noted the significance of the meeting, emphasizing that this was the first time the issue of transferring wartime operational control was discussed with President Trump.

President Lee expressed hope to President Trump that issues could be resolved through U.S.-North Korea dialogue amid a near-total absence of inter-Korean contact, and President Trump reportedly responded by saying that he maintains a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Earlier, in his keynote address at the UN General Assembly, President Lee stated his commitment to pursuing multilateral dialogue among relevant countries, including South Korea, North Korea, the United States, and China, to establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, while also adding:

[President Lee Jae-myung: On the international stage, we will also respect the North and cooperate on areas where cooperation is possible.]

This is interpreted as an intention to bring North Korea to the dialogue table by leveraging issues such as healthcare, disasters, and the climate crisis within the international community.

As his final event in New York, President Lee attended an investment summit gathering South Korean and U.S. economic and financial leaders, including BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink and Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim, where he promoted South Korea's AI policies and vision, including three mega projects.

Having wrapped up his itinerary in the United States, including the South Korea-U.S. summit and the keynote speech at the UN General Assembly, President Lee Jae-myung is now traveling to Mexico to begin the first state visit there by a South Korean leader in 16 years.

(Video by Jeong Sang-bo | Video Editing by Jeon Min-gyu | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)