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Can Lee Jae Myung’s G7 balancing act bridge North Korea divide?
Analysts say Lee’s outreach could help preserve prospects for future diplomacy, but Pyongyang has ‘little incentive’ to pursue dialogue
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Lee Jae Myung used his first major diplomatic outing to Europe to press Washington back towards diplomacy with North Korea, testing how far the South Korean president could reopen space for talks despite Pyongyang’s deepening alignment with Moscow and Beijing.
At this week’s Group of Seven summit, Lee’s outreach drew what observers described as a signal from US President Donald Trump that talks – rather than force – should remain the preferred approach for dealing with Pyongyang’s nuclear threat.
But analysts said the push faced a hard reality: while Trump might be minded to refocus on North Korea following the precarious conclusion of the conflict with Iran, Pyongyang had shown little appetite for talks.
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Lee said on social media he had held “in-depth” discussions with Trump about peace on the Korean peninsula and bilateral relations during a 90-minute G7 dinner on Wednesday. “A lot of progress was made,” he wrote, without elaborating.
Trump reportedly presented Lee with a signature pen as a gift and suggested they play golf together with their spouses.
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“The relationship between the Republic of Korea and the United States is solid and eternal,” Lee said.
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