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Lee underscores U.S. role in bringing peace to Korean Peninsula in APEC press conference

Published: 01 Nov. 2025, 14:27

SARAH KIM
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President Lee Jae Myung, center, speaks during a press conference on the results of the two-day APEC summit at the International Media Center in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang — President Lee Jae Myung underscored the importance of the role of the United States in resolving the situation on the Korean Peninsula in a press conference after concluding the APEC summit on Saturday.

"Attempting to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue solely through inter-Korean dialogue has clear limitations, so the role of the United States is crucial," Lee said in a press conference at the International Media Center in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. "China and Russia also need to play a role, but the most crucial role is that of the United States."

Lee's remarks come after U.S. Donald Trump signaled that he remains open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a bilateral summit in Gyeongju on Wednesday, saying the timing didn't work out this time.

"The Korean Peninsula is still legally under an armistice, and the United States, not South Korea, was the party to the armistice agreement," Lee said. "Therefore, North Korea believes it must consult with the United States and receive guarantees of its regime's security, and it actually acts accordingly."

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire, so the two are technically still at war.

Lee, in turn, downplayed concerns over North Korea's bellicose rhetoric.

"I don't think that North Korea's use of hostile language on various occasions is the point," Lee said, adding that such expressions "inevitably come out in the process of change."

He added, "I believe the intensity of their rhetoric has been significantly softened compared to the past."

"As North Korea is suspicious, angry and hostile toward the South Korean government, significant effort is needed to change this suspicion and confrontational mindset," Lee said.

President Lee Jae Myung, center, takes a question during a press conference on the results of the two-day APEC summit at the International Media Center in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Nov. 1. [AP/YONHAP]

Lee has taken measures to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula since he took office in June and has advocated a phased policy centered around "exchange," "normalization" and "denuclearization," or the so-called END initiative.

He asked Trump in their first summit in August to play the role of "peacemaker" on the Korean Peninsula issue, pledging to become a "pacemaker" to this end.

"How could things suddenly change?" Lee said during Saturday's press conference. "We are taking pre-emptive measures to the extent possible to make the North feel safe and able to trust the South, and such efforts will continue in the future."

Recalling late President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" toward the North, Lee stressed, "Peace and stability are only possible with deterrence, dialogue, compromise, persuasion and the hope of coexistence and prosperity."

He stressed that "creating a peace that eliminates the need for war is the most robust security."

Lee's press conference came ahead of his first bilateral summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping Saturday afternoon.

Regarding South Korea-China relations, Lee told reporters, "I believe that a substantive restoration of relations and strengthening of practical cooperation is absolutely necessary, and I intend to focus discussions on that."

He continued, "We must move beyond a simple recovery and find a path toward mutually beneficial cooperation," stressing that the "most important area is the economy."

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]