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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called on the United States President Donald Trump to help resolve tensions with North Korea, urging him to lead peace efforts with Pyongyang in the same way he helped broker an agreement between the United States and Iran.
Lee made the appeal during a conversation with Trump at the G7 summit in France, according to a statement from Seoul’s presidential office on Wednesday.
Trump, according to Seoul, expressed his commitment to working towards a resolution of the long-running dispute between the two Koreas.
“President Lee requested that he (Trump) take the lead in achieving a peaceful resolution to the North Korean issue, just as he has resolved the conflict in the Middle East”, the statement said.
“President Trump expressed his commitment to working toward a resolution of the North Korean issue.”
The appeal came after Washington and Tehran agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on Friday to end their war, prompting speculation that the Trump administration could shift its focus to North Korea.
Trump also renewed attention on his past engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after sharing an uncaptioned photo of the two from their 2018 Singapore summit shortly after announcing the US-Iran agreement.
Lee has adopted a more conciliatory approach towards Pyongyang compared with his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who pursued a tougher stance on North Korea.
However, Pyongyang has rejected Seoul’s overtures, referring to South Korea as its “most hostile” enemy and insisting that its nuclear status is irreversible.
Analysts have questioned the likelihood of renewed talks between Trump and Kim, with some arguing that Pyongyang currently has little incentive to engage with Washington.
Yang Moo-jin, a North Korea expert and former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Pyongyang had little reason to seek another meeting with the United States at this time.
Kim has instead strengthened ties with other countries, including Russia, by providing troops and weapons to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
He also recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang after Xi held separate meetings with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Neither North Korea nor China has publicly indicated that denuclearisation remains a priority, a development experts say suggests Beijing may have become more accepting of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
