Mr. Trump “welcomed” the request from President Lee Jae Myung and “he expressed his willingness to be engaged with North Korea once more,” Foreign Minister Cho Hyun mentioned in an interview with The Associated Press. There was no instant phrase from the White House.
Mr. Trump and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un met 3 times as North Korea was constructing a nuclear weapons stockpile, which Mr. Kim views as key to the nation’s safety and his continued rule of the northeast Asian nation.
There have been two summits in Singapore in June 2018, and in Vietnam in February 2019, the place Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim disagreed about U.S.-led sanctions in opposition to the North. A 3rd assembly that yr on the border between the 2 Koreas did not salvage their nuclear talks and Mr. Kim has since shunned any diplomacy with the U.S. and South Korea.
“It could be unbelievable in the event that they met with one another within the close to future,” Mr. Cho mentioned. “And President Lee made it clear to President Trump that he won’t be sitting within the driver’s seat. He requested President Trump to change into a peacemaker, and he relegated himself to change into a pacemaker,” the overseas minister mentioned. “We don’t thoughts. On the opposite, we would like President Trump to train his management to drag North Korea to dialogue desk.”
Since Mr. Trump returned to energy in January, he has repeatedly expressed hope of restarting talks with Mr. Kim. The North Korean chief mentioned on Monday (September 22, 2025) he nonetheless has “good recollections” of Mr. Trump however urged the United States to drop its demand that the North give up its nuclear arms as a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy.
Mr. Trump is anticipated to go to South Korea subsequent month to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which has prompted media hypothesis that he would possibly meet Mr. Kim once more on the border. Mr. Trump can be anticipated to satisfy with Chinese chief Xi Jinping throughout that assembly.
The Foreign Minister mentioned Mr. Lee requested Mr. Trump to take the lead as a result of the world has modified and change into “far more precarious” since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Accordingly, we’re equally nervous about any attainable navy skirmish on the Korean Peninsula,” Mr. Cho mentioned. “So we’re compelled to discover dialogues with North Korea to scale back the navy rigidity, and no less than we need to have a hotline.”
Denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula
Mr. Cho burdened that denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula “is the crucial – we can not let it go.”
Early on Friday, South Korea’s navy mentioned it fired warning photographs to drive away a North Korean service provider ship that briefly crossed the disputed western sea boundary between the 2 nations, amid persevering with excessive tensions.
“I’m not shocked in any respect,” Mr. Cho mentioned, “however this incident justifies the coverage of the brand new authorities that we have to have a hotline between the militaries, cut back the navy rigidity and construct confidence between the 2 events.”
File image of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un on the North Korean aspect of the border on the village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone. | Photo Credit: AP
Mr. Lee, who headed the left-leaning Democratic Party, received a snap election in June following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol after his short-lived imposition of martial regulation in December. Mr. Cho, a profession diplomat and former U.N. ambassador, took workplace as overseas minister on July 19.
In Mr. Lee’s speech to the annual assembly of world leaders on the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday (September 23, 2025), he mentioned South Korea has come again to the worldwide neighborhood as a traditional state after the home turmoil and has demonstrated its dedication to democracy.
Mr. Cho mentioned he felt “a bit uncomfortable” speaking concerning the earlier authorities in comparison with the present authorities, since Mr. Yoon was elected. But Cho recalled that when Mr. Yoon, who had been a prosecutor, was elected, he was satisfied “he would change into an aberration.”
Since turning into overseas minister, Mr. Cho mentioned he has been explaining to neighboring nations, together with throughout visits to Japan and China, that the brand new authorities “is set to hunt peace on the Korean Peninsula and likewise in northeast Asia.”
He mentioned the federal government needs to have interaction China and he had a “excellent constructive assembly” with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “however I made it clear that there are specific issues we can not settle for.”
Mr. Cho referred to China’s set up of “one thing” within the Yellow Sea that infringes on South Korea’s sovereignty. “So we made it clear that or not it’s eliminated. Otherwise, we’d take into consideration taking correct measures,” he mentioned.
Mr. Cho flew to Washington instantly after a large raid by U.S. immigration officers at a Hyundai plant in southeast Georgia detained 475 individuals, nearly all of them South Koreans. It turned a serious diplomatic situation between the 2 nations.
The minister mentioned Mr. Trump intervened and needed them to stay, however they have been chained and handcuffed and his major goal was to get them again dwelling.
Mr. Cho mentioned his talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended up having “a silver lining” as a result of acquiring visas for South Korean staff has been a longstanding downside and “we have been in a position to tackle this situation squarely and we can type out the issue.”
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