Anchor: While he is in Calgary, Alberta, for the Group of Seven(G7) summit, President Lee Jae-myung has met with the leaders of South Africa and Australia to discuss cooperation on trade, energy and national security. But Lee’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump were called off after Trump decided to return home early amid an intensifying crisis in the Middle East.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: President Lee Jae-myung, who landed in Canada on Monday local time to attend the Group of Seven(G7) summit, held bilateral talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, both of whom were invited to the event to represent non-G7 partner countries like South Korea. 

At the meeting with Ramaphosa in Calgary, Alberta, Lee called South Africa a “gateway to the African continent” for South Korea, seeking Pretoria’s interest in and support for South Korean companies operating there.

Lee proposed that the two countries work together closely to advance bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and energy.

Ramaphosa said South Korean companies with outstanding technological capabilities are making significant contributions to job creation and industrial development in his country, expressing hope for greater investment from South Korea and an expanded business presence.

Lee and Albanese, who previously spoke on the phone, agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and substantial progress toward the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Highlighting the long-standing trust and solidarity between the two sides, Albanese said South Korea and Australia have been actively cooperating on defense, clean energy and supply chains and should step up cooperation.

Speaking with the presidential press corps en route to Canada, Lee said the most important thing in tariff negotiations with the U.S. is to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome and ensure that South Korea is not at a disadvantage relative to other countries.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump cut his G7 attendance short amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, and the much-anticipated Lee-Trump talks on the margins of the forum Tuesday were called off, according to national security adviser Wi Sung-lac.

Lee is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday afternoon.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.