South Korea’s president asks Trump to be ‘peacemaker’ with North Korea

South Korea’s President has asked President Donald Trump to go “a peacemaker” and usage his enactment to get North Korea to talks to trim subject tensions connected the Korean Peninsula, the South’s apical diplomat said Friday (September 26, 2025).

Mr. Trump “welcomed” the petition from President Lee Jae Myung and "he expressed his willingness to beryllium engaged with North Korea again,” Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press. There was nary contiguous connection from the White House.

Mr. Trump and North Korean person Kim Jong Un met 3 times arsenic North Korea was gathering a atomic weapons stockpile, which Mr. Kim views arsenic cardinal to the country’s information and his continued regularisation of the northeast Asian nation.

There were 2 summits successful Singapore successful June 2018, and successful Vietnam successful February 2019, wherever Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim disagreed astir U.S.-led sanctions against the North. A 3rd gathering that twelvemonth astatine the borderline betwixt the 2 Koreas failed to salvage their atomic talks and Mr. Kim has since shunned immoderate diplomacy with the U.S. and South Korea.

“It would beryllium fantastic if they met with each different successful the adjacent future,” Mr. Cho said. "And President Lee made it wide to President Trump that helium volition not beryllium sitting successful the driver’s seat. He asked President Trump to go a peacemaker, and helium relegated himself to go a pacemaker,” the overseas curate said. “We don’t mind. On the contrary, we privation President Trump to workout his enactment to propulsion North Korea to dialog table.”

Since Mr. Trump returned to powerfulness successful January, helium has repeatedly expressed anticipation of restarting talks with Mr. Kim. The North Korean person said connected Monday (September 22, 2025) helium inactive has “good memories” of Mr. Trump but urged the United States to driblet its request that the North surrender its atomic arms arsenic a precondition for resuming long-stalled diplomacy.

Mr. Trump is expected to sojourn South Korea adjacent period to be the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which has prompted media speculation that helium mightiness conscionable Mr. Kim again astatine the border. Mr. Trump is besides expected to conscionable with Chinese person Xi Jinping during that meeting.

The Foreign Minister said Mr. Lee asked Mr. Trump to instrumentality the pb due to the fact that the satellite has changed and go “much much precarious” since Russia invaded Ukraine successful 2022.

“Accordingly, we are arsenic disquieted astir immoderate imaginable subject skirmish connected the Korean Peninsula,” Mr. Cho said. “So we are compelled to research dialogues with North Korea to trim the subject tension, and astatine slightest we privation to person a hotline.”

Denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula

Mr. Cho stressed that denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula “is the imperative – we cannot fto it go.”

Early connected Friday, South Korea’s subject said it fired informing shots to thrust distant a North Korean merchant vessel that concisely crossed the disputed occidental oversea bound betwixt the 2 countries, amid continuing precocious tensions.

“I’m not amazed astatine all,” Mr. Cho said, “but this incidental justifies the argumentation of the caller authorities that we request to person a hotline betwixt the militaries, trim the subject hostility and physique assurance betwixt the 2 parties.”

Mr. Lee, who headed the left-leaning Democratic Party, won a drawback predetermination successful June pursuing the impeachment of erstwhile President Yoon Suk Yeol aft his short-lived imposition of martial instrumentality successful December. Mr. Cho, a vocation diplomat and erstwhile U.N. ambassador, took bureau arsenic overseas curate connected July 19.

In Mr. Lee's code to the yearly gathering of satellite leaders astatine the U.N. General Assembly connected Tuesday (September 23, 2025), helium said South Korea has travel backmost to the planetary assemblage arsenic a mean authorities aft the home turmoil and has demonstrated its committedness to democracy.

Mr. Cho said helium felt “a spot uncomfortable” talking astir the erstwhile authorities compared to the existent government, since Mr. Yoon was elected. But Cho recalled that erstwhile Mr. Yoon, who had been a prosecutor, was elected, helium was convinced “he would go an aberration.”

Since becoming overseas minister, Mr. Cho said helium has been explaining to neighboring countries, including during visits to Japan and China, that the caller authorities “is determined to question bid connected the Korean Peninsula and besides successful northeast Asia.”

He said the authorities wants to prosecute China and helium had a “very bully constructive meeting” with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “but I made it wide that determination are definite things we cannot accept.”

Mr. Cho referred to China’s installation of “something” successful the Yellow Sea that infringes connected South Korea’s sovereignty. “So we made it wide that it beryllium removed. Otherwise, we would deliberation astir taking due measures,” helium said.

Mr. Cho flew to Washington instantly aft a monolithic raid by U.S. migration officers astatine a Hyundai works successful southeast Georgia detained 475 people, the bulk of them South Koreans. It became a large diplomatic contented betwixt the 2 countries.

The curate said Mr. Trump intervened and wanted them to remain, but they were chained and handcuffed and his superior nonsubjective was to get them backmost home.

Mr. Cho said his talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended up having “a metallic lining” due to the fact that obtaining visas for South Korean workers has been a longstanding occupation and “we were capable to code this contented squarely and we volition beryllium capable to benignant retired the problem.”