Crystal Dike
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Sunday that he would accept a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un to freeze North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
In an interview with the BBC ahead of his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lee said a freeze could serve as “a feasible, realistic alternative” to full denuclearisation, which North Korea has vowed never to pursue.
“North Korea is producing an additional 15 to 20 nuclear weapons a year,” he said. “So long as we do not give up on the long-term goal of denuclearisation, there are clear benefits to having North Korea stop its nuclear and missile development.”
Lee, who took office in June after the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, said he hoped Trump and Kim could resume negotiations, broken off in 2019. He described their “degree of mutual trust” as a potential path to peace.
North Korean leader Kim signaled on Sunday he would be willing to talk with Trump if Washington dropped its demand for denuclearisation.
Lee also addressed South Korea’s strained position amid closer ties between North Korea, China and Russia. He described the alignment as “not desirable” and pledged to work more closely with the US and Japan, while avoiding outright hostility toward Beijing and Moscow.
On relations with Washington, Lee voiced concern over a recent incident in which hundreds of Korean workers were briefly detained by US immigration officials while building a battery plant in Georgia. He called the episode “shocking” but said it could ultimately strengthen bilateral ties.
At home, Lee has sought to reduce tensions with Pyongyang by halting radio broadcasts into the North, a move criticised by rights groups. North Korea, however, has dismissed his gestures, branding him “delusional.”
Despite the setback, Lee maintains that a freeze on nuclear production—brokered through Trump—offers the most realistic path to easing tensions on the Korean peninsula.