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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan, as he laid out key coverage objectives for his single, five-year time period.
Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to grow to be South Korea’s main liberal politician vowing to battle inequality and corruption, formally started his time period earlier Wednesday, hours after successful a snap election that was triggered in April by the removing of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial regulation late final yr.
In his inaugural tackle on the National Assembly, Lee mentioned that his authorities will take care of North Korean nuclear threats and its potential army aggressions with “strong deterrence” based mostly on the strong South Korea-U.S. army alliance. But he mentioned he would “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation.”
He mentioned he’ll pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighboring international locations and increase trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation based mostly on the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance.
“Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximize our national interests,” Lee said.
It was unclear whether Lee’s election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea’s foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy and avoided any contentious remarks that would raise questions on his views on the U.S. and Japan.
“We’ll have to now see if the pressures of office will cause Lee Jae-myung to govern from the center — at least when it comes to matters of national security and the alliance with the United States,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The toughest external challenges awaiting Lee are U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and North Korea’s expanding military partnerships with Russia. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can’t do much to secure major progress in South Korea’s favor on those issues.
During his inauguration speech, Lee didn’t directly mention trade issues with the U.S.
The U.S. and Japan said they congratulated Lee’s election and expressed their commitments to developing three-way cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he wants to hold summit talks with Lee “as early as possible,” saying he hopes to further promote bilateral ties, both public and commercial. The U.S. State Department said that Seoul and Washington share “an ironclad commitment” to the alliance grounded in their mutual defense treaty, shared values and deep economic ties.
It’s unclear how North Korea would react to Lee’s speech, as it has shunned any talks with South Korea since 2019. North Korea in recent years has supplied weapons and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, and South Korea, the U.S. and their partners suspect Russia might in return transfer high-tech technologies to North Korea to help it perfect its nuclear weapons program.
Russia’s Tass news agency said Wednesday that one of President Vladimir Putin’s top security officials, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, has arrived in Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in the latest sign of the countries’ alignment over Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Lee said revitalizing a slowing domestic economy would be his top priority and that his government would immediately launch an emergency task force to wage a “head-on battle” against the threats of recession. He also promised more aggressive government spending to help spur economic activity.
South Korea’s central bank last week cut its key interest rate and sharply lowered its growth outlook for 2025 to 0.8%, as it moved to counter Trump’s tariff hikes and weak domestic demand worsened by recent political turmoil.
Lee additionally known as for unity to handle the nation’s stark political divide deepened after Yoon’s martial regulation debacle, saying that he’ll “answer the people’s solemn call to let hope bloom over deep and painful wounds.” Lee still promised a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Yoon’s martial law imposition, describing it as a “rebellion that seized people’s sovereignty with arms.”
Yoon and a few of his high army and law enforcement officials already stand trial on high-stakes rise up costs in reference to martial regulation. Lee’s push to carry these concerned in Yoon’s martial regulation stunt accountable has subsequently induced speculations amongst his opponents that he would launch political revenge in opposition to Yoon associates and senior prosecutors whom he beforehand accused of fabricating proof to provoke legal costs in opposition to him.
Lee faces 5 trials on corruption and different allegations, however consultants say these trials will doubtless cease throughout his time period as a result of the South Korean structure provides a sitting president immunity from most legal prosecutions.
Lee additionally reiterated his marketing campaign vows to cut back inequality and pledged to handle the imbalance between the larger Seoul capital space and fewer developed areas. He mentioned that “the polarization fueled by inequality is now hindering further growth.”
Lee’s time period started instantly with out the standard two-month transition interval after the National Election Commission formally confirmed his election victory.
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Associated Press author Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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