The Japan Times - Trump 'clearly' wants dialogue with Pyongyang: South Korean President

Trump, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term, said last month that he plans to meet Kim later this year.

The US president also said it was important to "get along" with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons. Seoul says there are around 80 to 120.

North Korea, which has secured critical backing from Russia in recent years, did not clearly respond to Trump's overtures.

Lee said Friday it was "clear" that "Trump wants dialogue, and I am also urging President Trump to engage in dialogue."

South Korea -- which Pyongyang has repeatedly labelled as its enemy -- was continuing "preliminary coordination efforts" to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the United States, Lee told reporters at the presidential Blue House.

He added that such a meeting "remains difficult... but is not impossible."

"I cannot say for certain how likely it is, but it is also clear that we must make every possible effort to turn that possibility into reality," he said.

South Korea and the United States held a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises last month, following an order from Trump to scale them back.

The truncated drills and Trump's overtures to Pyongyang have raised concerns that Seoul could be sidelined in potential nuclear talks involving the North.

Seoul has also committed to $350 billion in US investments under a deal struck last year to avoid the worst of Trump's tariffs, but specific projects and final terms are still being negotiated.

Lee said Friday the negotiations had been "very complex and difficult", adding that while the two sides were said to be close to agreement, he had found some terms "difficult to accept" and talks were continuing.

- 'No, thank you' -

The South Korean President also said that Seoul will not deploy troops to intervene militarily in the Iran war.

"There will be no involvement or intervention in the war. We will not deploy troops or military assets in that manner," said Lee.

Lee's answer follows reports that Seoul was weighing a possible deployment to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key flashpoint in the war launched by Israel and the United States against Iran.

He added that South Korea will "carry out the minimum necessary activities" to protect its own merchant ships and oil shipping routes.

Lee reiterated three times that South Korea would not deploy troops in a way that could lead to military intervention.

"We have upheld the principle of non-involvement and non-intervention in the war until now," he said.

"And we will continue to uphold it going forward."

Trump complained in an interview late last month that Washington had received "very little help" from other countries, singling out South Korea -- its key security ally in Asia -- as an example.

"We help them, but when it came to helping us, I didn't put on a heavy sell; But I just said, 'Would you like to participate?'" Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

"And they all said, 'No, thank you.' And I said, 'I'm going to remember that to myself,'" he added.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country's defences against the nuclear-armed North Korea.

However, Trump's repeated criticism of time-honoured alliances has cast doubt on US commitments to security in East Asia.

Lee also ruled out seeking to extend his constitutionally limited single term in office, amid mounting criticism after he and some allies floated constitutional reform.

His approval ratings have fallen to record lows in recent weeks amid growing discontent over his real estate policies, controversial personnel appointments and concerns over stock market volatility.

M.Yamazaki--JT