South Korea open to Trump-Kim nuclear freeze deal — President Lee

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has said he would accept a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in which North Korea freezes production of nuclear weapons rather than eliminates them.

Speaking to the BBC, Lee said North Korea was producing 15-20 nuclear weapons each year, and described a Trump-Kim nuclear freeze deal as “a feasible, realistic alternative” to full denuclearisation for the time being.

The interview took place in Seoul before Lee’s trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where South Korea currently holds the presidency of the Security Council.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and has said it would never give up its weapons.

“So long as we do not give up on the long-term goal of denuclearisation, I believe there are clear benefits to having North Korea stop its nuclear and missile development.

“The question is whether we persist with fruitless attempts towards the ultimate goal [of denuclearisation] or we set more realistic goals and achieve some of them,” Lee Jae Myung said.

Lee entered office in June with a pledge to reduce tensions with North Korea after years of strained relations under his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached last year.

He has urged Donald Trump to resume talks with Kim, which collapsed in 2019 when the US demanded North Korea dismantle its nuclear facilities.

Kim signalled in a recent speech to parliament that he would negotiate with Trump again, but only if Washington dropped its demand for denuclearisation.

Lee said he believed Trump and Kim “seem to have a degree of mutual trust” and that renewed dialogue could serve South Korea’s interests and global security.

Asked about the UN’s role, Lee said, “While it’s clear the UN is falling short when it comes to creating a truly peaceful world, I still believe it is performing many important functions,” but added that reforming the Security Council was “not very realistic”.

On China’s role in North Korea’s nuclear programme, Lee said it was “impossible to know” but that his current understanding did not suggest Beijing was enabling it.

He acknowledged the closer ties between China, Russia and North Korea, on display during a recent parade in Beijing, left South Korea in “a very difficult situation”.

“Seeing China, Russia and North Korea become so close is clearly not desirable for us,” he said, adding that Seoul would continue to strengthen relations with the US and Japan as prospects for a Trump-Kim nuclear freeze deal evolve.

(BBC)

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