The Presidential Office said on the 16th (local time) regarding the possibility of a summit between President Lee Jae-myung, who is visiting Canada to attend the G7 summit, and U.S. President Donald Trump, that it was initially scheduled but they are "checking the situation." This comes as President Trump has indicated he would return early due to escalating military conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. However, regarding the possibility of a meeting between President Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, they noted, "I understand there has been quite specific progress."
◇"The Korea-U.S. summit was scheduled for tomorrow, but we are checking the situation"
A source from the Presidential Office met with reporters that day at the Korean press center at a hotel in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and said, "There is a summit that was essentially scheduled between the Korea-U.S. leaders, but we are also checking the situation in light of the breaking news about Trump's early return. I can confirm that the Korea-U.S. meeting was originally scheduled."
The source added, "Since the report of early return came out while the summit was effectively confirmed, we need to check further," and stated, "Given that the exact timing and manner of the meeting had been arranged, it is necessary to verify whether it will be completely canceled or rescheduled." The source also said in response to a question about whether President Lee and President Trump might meet even if it is just before Trump's departure that night, "It seems unlikely."
Karoline Leavitt, White House Spokesperson, announced the same day that President Trump has decided to return early from Canada, where he is attending the G7 summit. Leavitt said, "Due to events occurring in the Middle East, President Trump will leave following the summit dinner tonight." Initially, Trump planned to attend from the 15th to the 17th for three days, but he decided to skip the last day's schedule.
◇The second day of the G7 without Trump… attention turns to Korea-Japan talks
According to the Presidential Office, the Korea-U.S. leaders were originally scheduled to meet for talks on the second day of the G7 summit, which is the 17th. It is reported that they had completed discussions on the specific timing, format, and total conversation duration. With the "tariff war" initiated by the United States being the biggest issue for various countries, there were high expectations that this would be the first meeting between the two leaders since President Lee's inauguration, paving the way for resolving economic and trade issues such as tariff negotiations. However, due to the outbreak of the Middle East issue, the meeting has effectively fallen through.
As a result, the importance of the Korea-Japan summit has increased significantly. President Lee has repeatedly stated during the presidential campaign the need to strengthen "Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation" and the "Korea-U.S. alliance." He also mentioned a commitment to achieving practical diplomacy centered on national interests, transcending ideology. If the Korea-Japan summit takes place, it is expected that plans to strengthen economic and security cooperation will be the main topics discussed, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the normalization of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations this year. However, with the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day approaching in August, there is attention on whether past issues such as forced labor and comfort women will be brought up.