South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, has told the BBC he would support a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un that freezes North Korea’s production of nuclear weapons—rather than requiring Pyongyang to dismantle its existing arsenal.
Calling a freeze “a feasible, realistic alternative” and “an interim emergency measure,” Lee warned that North Korea is currently producing an estimated 15–20 nuclear weapons annually. “So long as we do not give up on the long-term goal of denuclearisation, there are clear benefits to stopping North Korea’s nuclear and missile development,” he said.
Lee’s comments reflect growing concern over stalled diplomacy. North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and has rejected all overtures for talks since 2019, when negotiations between Trump and Kim broke down. The South Korean leader expressed hope the two might renew dialogue, saying they “seem to have a degree of mutual trust” that could advance peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Elected in June, Lee has sought to ease tensions following a turbulent period under his impeached predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol. Ahead of his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York—where South Korea currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency—Lee avoided directly criticizing the UN’s handling of the crisis but acknowledged that reforming the Security Council is “not very realistic.”
Lee also voiced unease about growing ties between Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang, noting that China’s recent parade featured Kim Jong Un alongside Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. “Seeing China, Russia, and North Korea become so close is clearly not desirable for us,” he said, adding that Seoul would continue working closely with the US and Japan while seeking to avoid new adversaries.
Positioning himself as a centrist after a history as a hardline opposition figure, Lee emphasized South Korea’s delicate geopolitical position: “The world is dividing into two camps, and South Korea is positioned right on the border. This situation is becoming increasingly difficult. But these camps cannot completely shut their doors, so we can position ourselves somewhere in the middle.”
On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lee condemned the war but left the door open to future cooperation with Moscow: “Relations between countries are not straightforward. We find ways to co-operate wherever possible and strive to co-exist peacefully.”
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