Deputy Minister Wi Sung-rak, the national security advisor, said about U.S. President Donald Trump's remark that Korea's $350 billion investment in the United States was "prepaid," that it was "an objective and realistic range we cannot afford," adding, "We cannot pay $350 billion in cash."
Appearing on Channel A on the 27th, Deputy Minister Wi answered a question about whether "President Trump's remarks will make the tariff negotiations with the United States more difficult" in this way.
Regarding President Lee Jae-myung meeting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York to discuss the tariff negotiations, he said, "It is not that there was progress in the negotiations." He added, "It was not a negotiating table, but simply a setting to convey our position more clearly and with more weight," and said, "We expect it will help the negotiations."
Deputy Minister Wi said, "It is a fact anyone in the Republic of Korea would acknowledge," adding, "Setting aside the ruling and opposition parties, no one can acknowledge it, so we are discussing alternatives." He continued, "One target we can think of is the occasion of the next summit," adding, "We are working toward the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting."
Deputy Minister Wi, on the possibility of arranging a meeting between President Trump and North Korea's State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un on the sidelines of the APEC summit, said, "For now, it seems it should be said to remain in the realm of imagination," adding, "There are still no signs or indications that it will likely happen."
Deputy Minister Wi, regarding the "END Initiative," a comprehensive vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula that President Lee presented in his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly, explained, "Some may question whether it means doing it in the order of E-N-D, and whether denuclearization comes last," but "it is just how the letters were written, and there is no sequence or priority." He emphasized in particular, "We have never abandoned denuclearization, nor have we ever thought of abandoning it." END stands for exchange, normalization of relations, and denuclearization.
Deputy Minister Wi said, "A frequent remark by the president is, 'If things continue as they are, won't the number of nuclear weapons increase by 15 to 20 every year?'" adding, "The president has a very grave sense of crisis regarding North Korea's nuclear issue."
On President Lee's point about "a servile mindset in some quarters that thinks self-reliant defense is impossible without foreign troops," he explained, "The alliance and coordination with the United States remain important," adding, "It means we will play a bigger role in what we must do in the realm of conventional capabilities."