Potential for South Korea-U.S. and South Korea-Japan Summit Meetings
[Anchor]
About an hour ago, President Lee Jae-myung departed for Canada to attend the G7 Summit. This marks his debut on the diplomatic stage just 12 days after his inauguration and signifies the restoration of South Korea’s top-level diplomacy, which had been at a standstill since the 12/3 martial law.
Now, attention is focused on whether bilateral meetings with the leaders of the United States and Japan can be arranged amid the multilateral discussions. The first report comes from correspondent Lee Seung-hwan.
[Reporter]
At Seoul Airport in Seongnam, President Lee Jae-myung and the First Lady were seen off by Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byung-ki and presidential aides as they boarded the presidential aircraft.
The president’s trip to participate in the G7 Summit in Canada marks his international debut just 12 days after taking office.
President Lee is using his 3-day, 1-night diplomatic schedule as an opportunity to resume top-level diplomacy that has been on hold for over six months due to the 12/3 rebellion incident and the impeachment scenario.
[Wi Seong-rak/National Security Office Director (Yesterday): “This will be the first international platform to convey the message that ‘Democratic Korea has returned’ to the international community. It marks the starting point for the reactivation of top-level diplomacy.”]
With key global leaders gathered, there is also a strategy to quickly establish trust relationships and undertake practical diplomacy.
The Presidential Office expects to find a breakthrough in trade issues, including tariff negotiations, which face a deadline early next month.
[Kang Yu-jung/Presidential Spokesperson: “Through this opportunity, President Lee will form ties with leaders of various countries and create a foundation to achieve tangible results in trade and other key issues.”]
President Lee is scheduled to arrive in Calgary, Canada, this afternoon (16th local time) for bilateral meetings with other invited nations’ leaders.
He will then attend a host country welcome event with the First Lady and participate in an expanded session with the G7 leaders the following day, where he plans to speak on diversifying energy supply chains and linking artificial intelligence with energy.
There is also a strong possibility of the first summit meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
A presidential office representative stated, “Progress in discussions has been made, reaching a stage of substantiality.”
[Video Reporters Joo Soo-young and Kim Mi-ran / Video Editing by Choi Da-hee]