U.S. finally confirms Lee-Trump phone call took place last Friday; first meeting at G7 this month?

The U.S. has finally confirmed a top-level call took place last week between new President Lee Jae-myung and President Donald Trump.

This comes amid growing anticipation that the two leaders will engage in a face-to-face meeting, at the G7 Summit which will kick off in a matter days.

Oh Soo-young has more.

Washington says it's "confident" that the South Korea-U.S. will continue to "thrive" under new President Lee Jae-myung, confirming that the new leader held a phone call with President Donald Trump last week.

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing that the U.S. congratulates Lee on his election win, expressing optimism, in response to a question about Lee's, quote, "pragmatic" approach to bilateral ties.

She acknowledged that Lee had spoken with Trump last Friday in a 20-minute phone call, marking the first time a U.S. official confirmed the call had taken place.

The conversation itself happened later than expected, on the third day of the Lee administration, bearing contrast with former Presidents Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk Yeol, who spoke on the phone with their American counterparts within hours of taking office.

Following the belated call, President Lee's office immediately almost announced it had taken place, elaborating how the two leaders exchanged pleasantries, and agreed on making efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement on tariffs, before the Trump administration begins imposing its delayed reciprocal duties on imports.

The Lee administration is reportedly aiming to postpone the July 8th deadline.

However, no readouts or messages emerged from Washington regarding the top-level conversation.

Experts have speculated the delay may have been intentional on Washington's side, as a means of passively pressuring Seoul amid negotiations.

"We need to understand Trump's world view different from predecessors. He considers the weakening of America. It is not because mainly because of like enemy country hostile country like a Soviet Union Russia, China and things like that, rather than this enemy country but because the weakness comes from airlines and partners who exploited U.S. market unfairly and free riding on security."

The two leaders also reportedly agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting soon, with the U.S. President extending an invitation to visit America.

But first, Lee and Trump are likely to hold a brief summit on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada starting June 15th.

Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.