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President Lee to make UN General Assembly debut this month

Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 14:49 Updated: 02 Sep. 2025, 17:11

SARAH KIM
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Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump at the West Wing entrance of the White House in Washington ahead of the bilateral summit on Aug. 25. [WHITE HOUSE]

President Lee Jae Myung will make his UN General Assembly debut later this month, the presidential office announced Tuesday, and become the first South Korean leader to preside over an open debate of the Security Council.

Lee will deliver a keynote address at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly at its headquarters in New York on Sept. 23, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a press briefing, covering the South Korean government's fundamental diplomatic direction, including issues related to North Korea.

"The president plans to share with the international community South Korea's experience of overcoming a crisis of democracy, and its recovery process, while presenting its vision and policies on key global issues, including Korean Peninsula matters," Kang said, regarding Lee's first address at the United Nations.

On Sept. 24, Lee will also preside over an open debate of the UN Security Council in his capacity as the rotating president for this month on the theme of AI, international peace and security.

South Korea assumed the rotating presidency of the 15-member Security Council for September, the first time in 15 months. South Korea has been serving as a non-permanent member of the council for a two-year term since last year and has held the presidency five times since joining the United Nations in 1991.

"The discussions will focus on the impact of the rapid development of AI technology on international peace and security," Kang said. "The host country determines the topic of the open debate, which was chosen because we are focusing our national power on AI as a future growth industry."

She said this is in part a "declaration that South Korea will take a greater lead in AI issues, which were previously led by advanced Western countries like Britain and the United States," while discussing how AI is "changing the world's science and technology and culture sectors."

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung gives a press briefing on President Lee Jae Myung's trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly later this month at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Sept. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

"President Lee will engage in various diplomatic activities to strengthen solidarity with the international community and elevate South Korea's status as a responsible global power," Kang said.

South Korean presidents have often delivered messages of peace on the Korean Peninsula to the international community at the UN General Assembly, dating back to former President Roh Tae-woo address in 1988. Thus, there is interest to see if Lee will also seek for global support for his efforts to ease tensions on the peninsula through a phased denuclearization approach.

Lee is likely to hold bilateral meetings on the margins of the General Assembly and invite leaders to take part in the APEC summit in Gyeongju in late October.

"It's possible that summit diplomacy will take place," Kang said, but added that the presidential office couldn't confirm the details at this point.

The White House announced Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is set to address the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23.

There is interest in seeing if Lee will have another encounter with Trump at the UN, less than a month after their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who Lee also met with last month, is also expected to attend the General Assembly, which could provide an opportunity to continue shuttle diplomacy.

Lee participated in his first multilateral forum in June, attending the Group of 7 (G7) summit in Canada shortly after taking office. Late last month, he visited Japan and the United States for his first bilateral trips.

Kang said Lee's New York trip "is expected to serve as an opportunity to confirm South Korea's position as a trusted partner and further strengthen its leadership on the global multilateral diplomatic stage."

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]