 "Trump praises South Korean president's North Korea strategy as Lee urges renewed talks with Kim Jong Un")
US President Donald Trump on Monday praised President Lee Jae Myung’s approach towards North Korea as “much better” than that of his predecessors as the South Korean leader urged Trump to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to restart peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
“The various leaders that I’ve dealt with, they were not approaching it properly, in my opinion… but I think your approach is a much better one,” CNN quoted Trump as saying during their meeting at the White House.
Trump added that he expects Lee, who took office in June, to serve for “a long time.”
Lee, meanwhile, called on Trump to take the lead in reviving diplomacy with North Korea, describing him as a global figure who had shown tangible results in past peace efforts.
“You are the first president to have so much interest in the world’s peace issues and actually made achievements,” CNN quoted Lee as saying.
“I hope you would make peace on the Korean Peninsula… and meet with Kim Jong Un,” he added.
Trump responded affirmatively, indicating openness to a new summit with the North Korean leader.
“I will do that, and we’ll have talks. He’d like to meet with me,” Trump said, adding, “We look forward to meeting with him, and we’ll make relations better. You’ll help that.”
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More ShortsLee, a left-leaning former labor lawyer, said the Korean Peninsula had remained relatively stable during Trump’s first term, but warned that North Korea has advanced its nuclear and missile programmes during the past four years.
“In the short hiatus where you were out of office, North Korea developed further its nuclear and missile capabilities, and that led to a deterioration of the situation,” Lee said.
In a lighter moment, Lee joked about post-diplomacy possibilities, suggesting that a Trump Tower be built in North Korea. “So I can go play golf in Pyongyang as well,” he quipped.
The meeting marked Lee’s first official visit to Washington since assuming the presidency and came amid heightened regional tensions and deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Lee arrived for talks just after Trump criticised the South Korean government , apparently over its handling of investigations related to his conservative predecessor’s December attempt to impose martial law.
The remarks cast a dark mood over high-stakes talks for Lee, who took office in June after a snap election that followed Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment and removal.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
South Korea’s economy relies heavily on the US, with Washington underwriting its security with troops and nuclear deterrence. Trump has called Seoul a “money machine” that takes advantage of American military protection.
With inputs from agencies
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