Lee asks Trump to play 'peacemaker' role on North Korea, lauds Iran peace deal at G7 summit 

President Lee Jae Myung asked U.S. President Donald Trump to play a "peacemaker" role on the Korean Peninsula during several encounters over the course of the two-day Group of Seven (G7) summit in Evian, France.

Trump, on the heels of concluding a tentative peace deal with Iran, expressed a strong determination to play a “necessary role” in advancing the North Korea issue, adding that he would communicate closely with Lee regarding this matter, Oh Hyun-joo, third deputy national security adviser, said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

The two leaders sat next to each other at a G7 gala dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife on Tuesday night and conversed for around two hours on topics including the South Korea-U.S. alliance, the Middle East situation and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.

Lee welcomed the conclusion of the U.S.-Iran peace talks and offered his congratulations on the deal being reached on Trump's birthday on Sunday, Oh said. After the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran broke out in late February, leading to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a major global oil chokepoint, Washington negotiated a tentative peace deal scheduled to be signed on Friday.

“I look forward to President Trump’s interest and engagement so that sustainable peace can be established on the Korean Peninsula, following the Middle East,” Lee was quoted as telling Trump.

Lee attributed the peace deal to “President Trump's efforts,” and the two leaders shared their views on the importance of free and safe navigation of the Strait of Hormuz.

Oh said that Trump showed “keen interest in the long geopolitical history of the Korean Peninsula and the current status of inter-Korean relations” and promised to “consider ways to contribute to peace” on the peninsula, she added.

During their conversation, Trump described Lee as a “strong leader,” Oh said, and expressed his expectation that they could contribute together to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout region.

The two leaders also exchanged views on South Korea-U.S. cooperation in the shipbuilding industry.

Lee and Trump shared a consensus on the importance of the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan cooperation based on the solid Seoul-Washington alliance, Oh said.

In their third meeting, Lee appeared closer to Trump in their multiple informal encounters over the course of two days, reaffirming their “special friendship and mutual trust,” according to Oh.

After last meeting eight months ago, Lee initially greeted Trump during a group photo session Tuesday morning, and the two leaders had a 30-second conversation.

During their chat, Trump asked Lee about the current status of inter-Korean relations, senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. Lee, in turn, asked Trump to “play a leading role in resolving the North Korean issue peacefully, just as you resolved the war in the Middle East.”

Immediately after attending a gala concert later Tuesday, Lee approached Trump and introduced first lady Kim Hea Kyung, saying, “She is my wife.”

Lee and Trump last met in late October last year on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, where the two agreed on a trade deal and Seoul received Washington's endorsement to build nuclear-powered submarines.

On Wednesday, Lee and Trump were seen entering the venue side by side for the second session of the expanded meeting.

However, a separate bilateral summit with Trump didn’t take place on the margins of the G7 gathering.

During their first summit in Washington in August 2025, Lee asked Trump to become a “peacemaker” for the Korean Peninsula, adding he will in turn play the role of “pacemaker."

On Saturday, just hours after declaring an end to the Iran war, Trump posted on Truth Social a photo of him taking a walk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, during his first term as president. Trump and Kim at the time issued a joint statement calling for denuclearization and the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. analysts have speculated that Trump may attempt to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has so far not been responsive to Lee’s peace overtures, after the November midterm elections.

On Wednesday, Trump in a Truth Social post touted his France trip as a “great success” and wrote that leaders mostly wanted to discuss "the fact that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon, and that the Strait of Hormuz will immediately be opened!"

However, Trump said that that the U.S.-Iran agreement is not a final deal, and he warned that the United States could resume bombing Iran if Tehran leaders “don't behave."

Regarding a U.S.-led Iran reconstruction fund, a presidential official said that “South Korea has both the willingness and the capability to make practical contributions to international efforts, including those of the United States, to ensure free and secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz in the future.”  

As he headed back to Seoul, Lee in a post on X shared that he had a “deep conversation” with Trump over dinner Tuesday. Lee added after their final luncheon Wednesday, Trump gifted him his signing pen.

“During the dinner, he mentioned golf and said he would play with my wife and me,” Lee wrote, adding that the first lady made a “pinky promise” to do so. 

“As we parted after luncheon today, he insisted that we definitely play golf together again,” Lee added. “I thought it was just a passing remark, but it seems I should get ready.” He then thanked Trump for his “special interest.” 

During his 10-day trip to Europe, Lee has sought the support of European leaders and Pope Leo XIV for his vision to ease inter-Korean tensions and bring sustainable peace to the Korean Peninsula.

Visiting the Vatican on Monday, Lee invited the pope to Seoul for the 2027 World Youth Day, a major Catholic festival to be held in August next year, which could provide an opportunity for a papal visit to Pyongyang.

Later Wednesday, Lee wrapped up his 10-day trip to Europe, which also took him to Belgium and Italy.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]