The presidential office said the leaders of South Korea and the United States reaffirmed their close ties during a phone conversation on Friday.

Speaking to local reporters on Saturday, an official from the top office said the first phone call between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump focused on building trust and a friendly rapport between the two.

The official noted that, compared to past inaugural calls between the leaders from the two sides, the relatively long 20-minute conversation was aimed at fostering a sense of closeness.

While declining to go into specifics out of diplomatic courtesy, the official said the two leaders shared a mutual understanding of challenges, as they have both been a target of an assassination attempt.

When asked about the possibility of Seoul sending envoys to Washington, the official said the administration is currently focused on thoroughly preparing for Lee's attendance at the Group of Seven(G7) summit in Canada in mid-June.
 
As for a possible face-to-face meeting between Lee and Trump on the sidelines of the summit, the official said Seoul is making appropriate preparations for that scenario.