Anchor: Attending an extended session of the Group of Seven summit in Canada, President Lee Jae Myung engaged in full-fledged summit diplomacy on the fringes of the forum. Lee met with several world leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.    
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: 

[Sound bite: Participants at G7 summit pose for group photo] 

President Lee Jae Myung joined world leaders at the Group of Seven(G7) summit in Canada, making his international debut just two weeks after taking office. 

Taking part in the summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, as one of the outreach invitees, Lee held a series of bilateral talks Tuesday, including one with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English)]
“In South Korea, people say Japan is a close but faraway country. We are inseparable, just like neighbors sharing the same front yard. There are small differences, but despite the differences in opinion, I hope our two nations can advance bilateral ties in a future-oriented manner, beneficial to each other.”

While Lee said the two countries complement each other, Ishiba stressed collaboration in regional and international politics on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties. 

[Sound bite: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (Japanese-English)]
“I sincerely hope that exchanges will be reinvigorated on the occasion of the 60th anniversary, not only exchanges between [President Lee] and me, and exchanges between governments and businesses, but people-to-people exchanges as well. And I hope that this bilateral cooperation and collaboration will benefit the region and the world.”

The half-hour meeting came amid concerns that the new South Korean president’s foreign policy take on Japan might not be conducive to friendly ties, which his impeached predecessor revived after years of bilateral conflicts.

Holding talks with the leaders of the U.K., Canada, India, Brazil and Mexico, as well as the UN and EU chiefs, Lee also sought to maintain the country’s friendly ties with those countries.  

[Sound bite: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (S. Korea-UK Summit)]
“Let me take this opportunity to say congratulations for your electoral victory. We very much look forward to working with you. We have a good, strong relationship and we want to strengthen it even further whether that’s on trade and the economy, particularly the enhancement of the free trade agreement, or defensive security …” 

[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English)]
“Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I agree that we should make progress in modernizing our free trade agreement, and I look forward to further discussions to promote cooperation in multiple areas.”    

During the extended G7 session, Lee outlined a vision for energy security and artificial intelligence(AI) technologies, highlighting South Korea’s role in stabilizing supply chains for critical minerals and global AI semiconductors.

The G7 conference was a chance for Lee to kick-start his diplomacy with most of South Korea’s key partner countries. 

But since U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly left the multilateral venue amid the Israel-Iran conflict, Lee is pressed for time to engage in trade talks with Washington before its tariff pause expires. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.