Pres. Lee Jae Myung holds flurry of bilateral talks at G7

On the sidelines of the G7 summit's expanded session, President Lee Jae Myung has been busily engaging in a series of bilateral meetings with fellow world leaders.

For the latest, we go live to our Presidential Office correspondent, Song Yoo-jin.

Yoo-jin, what's the latest?

Eun-ji, it's been a full day for President Lee Jae Myung, who took part in the G7 Summit's expanded session while holding a number of bilateral meetings in Kananaskis.

I want to begin with President Lee's one-on-one with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Even before departing for Canada, the focus was on whether Lee would meet with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts.

While President Donald Trump left early due to the situation in the Middle East, Lee's very first face-to-face with Ishiba did take place on Tuesday afternoon, nine days after their phone call.

During the 30-minute meeting, the two leaders agreed to build a stronger and more mature South Korea-Japan relationship based on mutual respect and trust, as this year marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to regular high-level meetings and continuing to advance discussions through official channels.

Strengthening trilateral coordination with the United States, particularly in responding to regional geopolitical challenges, including North Korea, was discussed as well.

Aside from the meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, which other leaders has President Lee met with so far?

President Lee also held meetings with the leaders of Brazil, the United Nations, Mexico, India, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada.

For some key takeaways, in talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the two discussed upgrading their post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement, with the latest round of negotiations held in London in March.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed that President Lee speak at the UN General Assembly in September on the resilience of South Korea's democracy following last December's martial law declaration.

Lee's final bilateral was with this year's G7 host, Canada, where he and Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to deepen cooperation on security and defense.

President Lee specifically mentioned Korean companies' participation in Canada's submarine acquisition program, with Canada aiming to finalize contracts by 2028.

Both sides also shared serious concern over the worsening situation in the Middle East and called for a swift de-escalation.

Meanwhile, economic cooperation was a key theme in Lee's talks with the leaders of Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and India.

That's all I have for now.

Back to you, Eun-ji.

Thank you, Yoo-jin.