US President Donald Trump pledged to play “a necessary role” in promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula during a phone call with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday, Cheong Wa Dae said.
The two leaders discussed the outcome of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and Friday, and ways to advance South Korea-US relations, senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a statement Monday.
During the phone call, Trump explained the “results of the US-China summit, including overall US-China relations, economic and trade agreements, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East,” according to Kang.
Kang explained that Lee and Trump “held a sympathetic discussion on peace on the Korean Peninsula” during the phone call, which lasted about 30 minutes beginning at 10 p.m. at Lee’s residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul.
“President Lee positively assessed the constructive consultations between President Trump and President Xi regarding issues on the Korean Peninsula,” Kang said.
“President Trump said that he would continue to play the necessary role and make the necessary contribution to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula going forward, based on close coordination between the (South) Korean and US leaders,” Kang added.
Trump said he had discussed North Korea with Xi, responding to a reporter’s question aboard Air Force One on May 15 as he returned to Washington after his three-day state visit to Beijing. However, Trump did not share further details, including the content of the discussion.
After the Lee-Trump phone call, the White House said Trump and Xi “confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea” in a fact sheet on the outcome of the US-China summit.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea requested Sunday’s call to hear directly from the US side about the outcome of the US-China summit.
During the phone call, Lee said “the stable management of US-China relations would contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world,” Kang said.
Lee further expressed appreciation for “Trump’s active leadership in addressing the situation in the Middle East and said he hoped peace and stability in the Middle East would be restored as soon as possible,” Kang added.
The phone call also covered the implementation of the Joint Fact Sheet — a bilateral package agreement encompassing security and trade, including South Korea’s $350 billion investment in the US, plans to build nuclear-powered submarines and Seoul’s right to pursue civilian uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing.
“The two leaders also recalled that the Joint Fact Sheet announced last year was a historic agreement that upgraded the South Korea-US alliance to a new level,” Kang said. “They agreed to work toward the faithful implementation of the agreement.”
Lee and Trump also looked ahead to a potential in-person summit on the sidelines of the G7 summit, scheduled for June 15-17 in Evian, France, following their Oct. 29 summit on the sidelines of the APEC summit hosted by South Korea in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
“The two leaders expressed anticipation for their reunion at the G7 summit scheduled for the middle of next month,” Kang said.
The Trump-Lee phone call came after Seoul served as a venue for pre-summit coordination between Washington and Beijing. Lee held rare back-to-back meetings on May 13 with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who were in South Korea for preparatory talks ahead of the US-China summit.
Trump’s summit with Xi focused on managing the world’s most consequential bilateral rivalry amid heightened geopolitical tensions and economic friction. The summit covered a wide range of issues, including Taiwan, the US-Israel war with Iran and trade, but produced no major breakthrough or concrete deliverables.
Trump also spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on May 15.
After the call, Takaichi said Trump “explained his visit to China in quite a lot of detail,” adding that the two leaders exchanged views mainly on China-related issues, including economic security and broader security affairs. Takaichi said she and Trump also discussed the “situation surrounding Iran.”
Trump’s calls with Lee and Takaichi came ahead of Lee’s scheduled summit with Takaichi on Tuesday in his hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, where the two leaders are expected to discuss expanding cooperation across the board, as well as regional and global issues.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
