President Lee Jae Myung says he intends to raise a range of issues concerning North Korea during his upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The president made the remarks on Sunday during an in-flight press conference aboard his presidential plane en route to Washington. 

Asked if he was prepared for a sudden proposal from Trump regarding North Korea, Lee said either he or Trump could propose topics for the agenda.

Lee added that he will talk openly with Trump, without restrictions, stressing that the issue of North Korea is very important to South Korea and that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are the most important factors in South Korea’s security. 

The president said things are much worse now than in 2018, when inter-Korean tensions had escalated but later eased, citing deepened distrust and hostility and the North’s expanded nuclear and missile capabilities. 

But he added that South Korea’s long-term policy on the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged, underlining the need for continued dialogue, communication and cooperation to achieve denuclearization and peace on the peninsula.