President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea speaks at a briefing on the outcomes of his participation in the Group of Seven summit in France and his tour of Europe from the Blue House on June 19, 2026. (Yonhap)
Hopes for a revival of US-North Korea dialogue are resurfacing after President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea shared what he discussed with US President Donald Trump about North Korea’s nuclear program at a Group of Seven summit dinner on June 16 in France. “President Trump said he posted a photo on social media [on June 13] of himself walking through a garden with [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un and said, ‘It’s time to pay attention to the North Korean issue,’” Lee said at a press conference at the Blue House on Friday. Lee added that Trump “was thinking that he needed to talk” with Kim. This suggests that with the war with Iran ending, the Trump administration may be shifting its focus to dialogue with North Korea.“I told Trump that we shouldn’t approach the North Korean nuclear issue in the same way we do other countries anymore,” Lee said. “I proposed a phased approach that differentiates short- and long-term goals: first, halt further production of nuclear materials, reduce stockpiles after the situation stabilizes, and then move toward denuclearization after trust is built and regime security is guaranteed.”
