Pres. Lee in Canada for G7 summit, resumes summit diplomacy

President Lee Jae-myung is in Canada for his diplomatic debut at the G7 Summit.

On day one, he held bilateral meetings with the leaders of South Africa and Australia addressing economy and energy cooperation.

Our Correspondent Yoon Jung-min reports from Calgary.

On his way to Canada to attend the G7 Summit, South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung was asked about the timing of the G7 summit during a impromptu press conference on-board Korea's Air Force One.

"It's true that it is not easy to attend an international meeting only a few days after taking office. There were opinions that we needed to show the international community that the Republic of Korea had quickly returned to normal."

By that, he meant filling the leadership vacuum following the martial law incident. The President started off his resumption of summit diplomacy by holding bilateral meetings with invited non-G7 countries South Africa and Australia on his first day in Canada.

President Lee met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese separately, and in those meetings, he addressed cooperation on the economy and energy, building upon friendships dating back to the Korean War over seven decades ago.

Lee also addressed regional security surrounding the Korean peninsula.

Also in the president's mind for this trip is trade with the U.S.

"At least we need to make sure that we will not be placed in a more disadvantageous position than other countries. We need to make efforts to yield mutually beneficial results for all."

Having wrapped up some of his first bilateral meetings, more summit diplomacy awaits President Lee here in Canada, possibly with his U.S. counterpart Trump and Japanese counterpart Ishiba.

Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News, Calgary.