At the G7, the South Korean president asked Trump to relaunch dialogue with North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called his American counterpart Donald Trump to take the initiative to achieve a peaceful resolution of tensions with North Korea. This exchange took place on the sidelines of the G7 summit held in France.

According to the South Korean presidency, the two leaders spoke briefly during the group photo of heads of state and government attending the summit. Donald Trump reportedly asked Lee Jae-myung about the current state of relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the South Korean president asked the American leader to play a leading role in diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He specifically referred to recent initiatives undertaken by Washington to try to resolve conflicts in the Middle East.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Donald Trump responded that he would strive to contribute to a resolution of the North Korean issue. However, no further details were provided regarding possible future diplomatic initiatives.

Relations between Washington and Pyongyang remain marked by previous contacts between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. During his first term, Trump met with Kim three times, notably at the historic Singapore Summit in 2018, and then in Hanoi in 2019.

That same year, the two leaders also met in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. On that occasion, Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot on North Korean soil.

Despite these unprecedented meetings, negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program had not resulted in a lasting agreement. Seoul's appeal at the G7 summit thus demonstrates the new South Korean president's commitment to placing diplomacy at the heart of efforts to reduce tensions in one of the world's most sensitive regions.