Seoul backs US-North Korea dialogue, eyes ‘pacemaker’ role as Trump reaches out to Kim
South Korea has a “strong interest” in Iran’s denuclearization and remains committed to working with the US and the international community on nuclear nonproliferation, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said Tuesday.
Wi’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump said in a Sunday Truth Social post that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had recently declined his request to join US efforts regarding Iran, responding, “No thanks.”
“The issue of Iran’s denuclearization was raised in the social media post, and we have a particularly keen interest in international nuclear nonproliferation,” Wi said during a press briefing.
Wi said that interest stems from South Korea’s experience with North Korea, which violated its nonproliferation commitments, breached the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and went on to develop nuclear weapons.
“In the same vein, we have a strong interest in the denuclearization of Iran and are working with the international community on the issue,” Wi said.
“Our government will maintain this position and continue to coordinate closely with the international community, including the United States.”
Wi further underlined that Seoul has been engaged in discussions on ways to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and contribute to related international efforts.
“We’ve been in active discussions with the international community, including the US, from the outset over the war in Iran and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” Wi said.
“We have also been reviewing practical and military contributions that we can make, while taking into account the readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal procedures,” he added.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump claimed that Lee had declined his request for Seoul’s help regarding the Iran war during a recent phone call between the two leaders.
Trump framed the issue in terms of “fairness,” pointing to the presence of US troops in South Korea.
“When you ask somebody, ‘Would you like to give us a hand?’ and they say, ‘No,’ and then, we are guarding them from a country, and paying ourselves billions, and it’s costing us billions and billions of dollars to protect not only them, but other countries,” Trump told reporters.
Regarding Trump’s repeated overtures for dialogue with North Korea, Wi reiterated Seoul’s position that it would continue diplomatic efforts as a “pacemaker” to keep US-North Korea dialogue ticking over, based on close coordination with Washington.
Wi said Lee and Trump had held “extensive discussions” on North Korean issues at the leaders’ level on several occasions, particularly around the Group of Seven and NATO summits.
“We hope President Trump’s latest social media message will help turn the friendly relationship between the US and North Korean leaders into meaningful dialogue between the two countries,” Wi said. “Through such dialogue, we hope to see tangible progress toward peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and expect discussions toward that end to resume.”
Trump said during a press gaggle Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had responded to his overtures for dialogue, though he offered no details.
Trump’s remarks came a day after he said in his Sunday Truth Social post that he had ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” combined military exercises with South Korea. Trump argued that the combined military exercises sent a “signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile,” while touting his “very good relationship” with Kim.
The US Defense Department said Monday that it was “actively working on executing the commander-in-chief’s directive,” without elaborating on how Trump’s order would affect the scale or scope of the allies’ exercises.
Asked about Trump’s directive to scale back the allies’ annual combined exercises, as the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise kicked off Monday, Wi said Seoul and Washington had “continued to coordinate” over their combined exercises and training.
“We will continue such coordination going forward,” Wi added, without elaborating further.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com