President Lee Jae Myung is set to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, with world leaders gathering to express their stances on key international affairs and hold meetings on the sidelines of the Assembly.
According to the presidential office, Lee will be the seventh leader to address the UN General Assembly on the first day of the general debate at the General Assembly Hall at UN headquarters in New York.
The general debate is a weeklong event scheduled from Tuesday until Sept. 29. Before Lee on Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be the first speaker, and US President Donald Trump will be the second to speak at the session. Chinese President Xi Jinping and outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will both deliver their speeches on Sept. 26.
One of the key topics in the Assembly will likely be the situation in Gaza, as Israel recently launched a ground offensive in the territory. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the conflict there, saying the killing of civilians is "morally, politically and legally intolerable."
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to address the Assembly on Sept. 25, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Sept. 26.
The focus is also on who will represent North Korea in a speech to the Assembly scheduled for Sept. 29.
Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing earlier on Sept. 2 that Lee's speech before leaders of 193 member countries would revolve around South Korea's path to overcome its crisis of democracy in the wake of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's illegal declaration of martial law in December, and Seoul's vision to address the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee is also scheduled to chair an open debate in the 15-member UN Security Council on Sept. 24 on artificial intelligence and international peace and security, as South Korea holds the rotating presidency of the council in September. Lee will be the first South Korean leader to chair a UN Security Council debate.
Lee is also expected to hold numerous meetings with leaders of UN member states on the sidelines of the event. According to the presidential office, Lee, in his phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sept. 11, expressed anticipation for a meeting during his visit to New York. But Lee's office has not confirmed how many meetings will be arranged.
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