President Lee Jae Myung, center left, alongside his wife Kim Hea Kyung, arrives at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino, just outside Rome, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap
President Lee Jae Myung said Korea's traditional reliance on the United States for defense is no longer valid and that the country will seek to become a partner capable of self-reliant defense.
Seoul will also work to expand its economic cooperation with the U.S., he added, calling it an important factor in what he called a new approach that he said will better serve Korea's national interest amid a shift in the geopolitical environment.
Lee made the remarks in an interview, published Thursday, with Corriere della Sera, Italy's most widely circulated daily newspaper, as he is currently on a visit to Italy as part of his first trip to Europe since taking office a year earlier.
Referring to Korea's traditional approach of relying on Washington for national security while maintaining close economic ties with Beijing, the country's largest trading partner, the president insisted such an approach was no longer valid.
