South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (C) arrives in Ulaanbaatar on a three-day state visit to Mongolia on Thursday. Photo by Yonhap
South Korea seeks phased denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as it also seeks to normalize ties with North Korea, President Lee Jae Myung has said ahead of his state visit to Mongolia, which he called a "trusted partner" in such efforts.
In an interview with Mongolia's state-run Montsame news agency released Thursday, the South Korean president highlighted Mongolia's potential role in bridging the divided Koreas.
"I hope that Mongolia ... will contribute even more to peace and stability, not only on the Korean Peninsula but across Northeast Asia as a whole." the president said. "I believe that the power to create peace comes not from military force, but from mutual trust and dialogue."
"Mongolia has maintained balanced relations not only with China and Russia, but with other key countries of the region ... I believe this diplomatic capacity of Mongolia is more important now than at any time before," he added.
