Lee

President Lee Jae Myung has warned risks of accidental clashes with North Korea, saying Seoul must continue to make efforts with patience to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to reduce such risks.

Lee gave the assessment on inter-Korean relations at a press conference aboard his flight from Johannesburg to Ankara on Sunday (local time), as part of his four-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East.

Inter-Korean relations have turned extremely hostile and confrontational, and North Korea is engaging in very extreme actions without even the most basic level of trust,” Lee told reporters. “We are in a very dangerous situation where accidental clashes could break out at any time.”

He renewed his call for dialogue after Seoul proposed military talks to clarify the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), aimed at preventing unintended clashes near the border. The proposal came amid repeated incidents of North Korean soldiers briefly crossing the MDL while clearing land or laying mines in the buffer zone.

Lee noted that the North has been installing triple layers of barbed wire along the MDL, raising the risk of warning-fire incidents amid differing views on the precise border line.

“With all communication channels severed, even if an accidental clash occurs, there is no way to resolve it,” he said.

To ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Lee underscored the need to push for dialogue with Pyongyang even if it remains unresponsive.

While reaffirming unification with North Korea is South Korea’s ultimate goal, Lee said it must be approached from a long-term perspective.

“We have no intention of pursuing unification by absorption,” he said, emphasizing that discussions on unification should come only after dialogue resumes and peaceful coexistence is established.

Asked whether South Korea could consider curtailing its joint military drills with the United States to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table, Lee said it is premature to draw conclusions, calling the matter “the most sensitive” issue for North Korea.

He said that while a stable peace regime in which large-scale exercises are unnecessary would be desirable in the long term, decisions on drills should depend on evolving circumstances.

“If a stable peace regime is firmly established between the two Koreas, it would be desirable not to conduct the drills,” he said. “Depending on the situation, reducing or postponing the exercises could become either the result of building a peace regime or leverage to help create one. It is difficult to say at this moment which it will be.”

Pyongyang has long denounced the Seoul-Washington exercises as “war rehearsals,” while the allies claim they are defensive in nature.

On relations with China, Lee reiterated that South Korea should stably manage ties with its largest trading partner while advancing the alliance with the U.S. to a strategic comprehensive one encompassing the economy and technology.

“The basic principle of our diplomacy is the Korea-U.S. alliance, while stably managing relations with China,” he said. “The foundation of this approach is pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests. I have clearly communicated this principle to both the U.S. and China.”

Regarding the diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan, Lee called for a “cool-headed approach” guided by national interest.

He said he held separate talks with Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa to prevent misunderstandings or conflict.

“I have explained our position in the two meetings,” he said, adding that “there are no additional risk factors” in South Korea’s relations with the neighboring nations.

South Korea, China and Japan reportedly had consultations to arrange their first trilateral summit since May 2024. But the outlook for trilateral engagement remains cloudy amid a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing.

Lee said leaders he met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa and visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt showed strong interest in South Korea’s defense industry.

“In particular, they were interested in joint development, production, sales and exploring new markets,” he said.

He expressed optimism in clinching a major defense deal from the UAE following his summit with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan last week.

Lee also said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi outlined plans to expand Cairo International Airport under an estimated cost of around 3-4 trillion won (US$2-2.7 billion), while expressing hope that Korean companies would join the project to overhaul and operate it.

In Johannesburg, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed establishing a cooperative framework in the shipbuilding industry involving South Korea, Japan and India, Lee added.

Ahead of his summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, Lee said he wants to highlight Korea’s advanced nuclear energy capability to promote the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)’s bid to win a new nuclear plant project in Turkey.

In 2023, KEPCO submitted a preliminary bid to Turkey’s project to build its second nuclear power plant in Sinop on the Black Sea coast.

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President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday reunification with North Korea remains South Korea’s ultimate goal and a constitutional duty, vowing to pursue it through dialogue rather than unilateral action.

Lee, in Johannesburg for the Group of 20 summit, made the remarks in a written interview with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, published ahead of his state visit to Ankara.

“Reunification remains our ultimate goal and is not merely an ideal but a constitutional duty. Our government will not pursue reunification through a unilateral approach,” Lee said in the translated interview.

“Our government seeks gradual and phased reunification through peaceful coexistence and mutual development, reflecting the democratic will of all people on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

Since taking office in June, Lee has repeatedly expressed his intent to resume talks with North Korea, saying his government respects the North’s political system and will not seek reunification by absorption.

Lee reiterated that restarting dialogue with Pyongyang is his top priority as inter-Korean communication channels remain frozen.

“We are ready to talk with North Korea through any channel,” he said. “The door to dialogue will always remain open.”

He added that Seoul has been coordinating closely with Washington and that he asked U.S. President Donald Trump to play the role of “peacemaker,” while also offering his diplomatic support for renewed U.S.-North Korea dialogue.

Asked whether South Korea plans to develop its own nuclear weapons, Lee reaffirmed his commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and stressed the strengthening of extended deterrence with the United States, which refers to Washington’s commitment to use the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear forces.

“Amid the persistent threats by North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. is strengthening to more effectively counter any provocation,” he said.

Addressing the escalating U.S.-China rivalry, Lee underscored the need to maintain stable relations with China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, while cautioning against a heightened arms race in Northeast Asia.

On relations with Turkey, Lee said South Korea aims to deepen cooperation with Turkey in the defense and nuclear energy industries to advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

He noted that South Korea’s strengths in tanks, artillery and naval systems, combined with Turkey’s leadership in drone technology, create “significant potential” for joint defense projects.

He cited Turkey’s Altay main battle tank program equipped with Korean engines as a “strong example” of bilateral defense ties, expressing hope to step up collaboration in joint production, technology partnership and personnel training.

Lee added that discussions are under way on Korean participation in Turkey’s planned Sinop nuclear power plant on the Black Sea coast, as well as cooperation on small modular reactors.

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South Korea’s Somi Lee shot a career-best eight-under-par 64 to open up a two-shot lead in the first round of the LPGA’s lucrative season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

The 26-year-old made four birdies on the front nine and three more on the back nine – plus an eagle on the 17th – with the only blemish to her scorecard arriving with a bogey on the 18th.

“It’s an honour playing my first Tour Championship and I don’t think I was necessarily in a position to be nervous about anything,” Lee said.

“I thought to myself ‘whatever the score is or how I play, let’s just prepare for next year’s season’. I think that kind of alleviated the stress in today’s round to be able to get a better score.”

American Allisen Corpuz is at six under, while world number one and defending champion Jeeno Thitikul, who leads the Race to CME Globe rankings, is one of four players a stroke further back at five under.

Germany’s Esther Henseleit and Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom ended Thursday in a tie for seventh at four under and are the highest-placed Europeans in the 60-player field at Tiburon Golf Club in Florida, which contains 28 of the 29 winners from this season.

England’s Charley Hull, who won this tournament in 2016, knocked in five birdies but a double-bogey on the 10th checked her progress and she eventually signed for a three-under-par 69.

Her compatriot Lottie Woad is at two under, while world number two Nelly Korda recovered from consecutive bogeys on the second and third holes to finish one under as she chases her first win of the campaign.

The LPGA’s final event of the season carries a total purse of $11m (£8.4m).

The $4m (£3.1m) top prize is the largest winner’s cheque in women’s golf and the third biggest in all of golf behind the men’s Tour Championship ($10m/£7.6m) and The Players Championship ($4.5m/£3.4m).