President Lee calls tariff talks with U.S. "not easy"

President Lee Jae Myung held a press conference today, marking one month in office.

Topics covered were a wide range of issues, including the economy, North Korea, and foreign policy.

When it comes to trade talks with the U.S., the President said it's "not easy" though he says he's making utmost efforts.

On foreign policy, our senior presidential office correspondent Yoon Jung-min takes a closer look.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was mindful of trade negotiations with the U.S. during Thursday's press conference marking 30 days in office.

When asked, he said one thing that he could say for sure was that it's "not easy."

"I'm not sure if I can say it could be done by July 8. I'm doing my best. We need to yield results that are mutually reciprocal that help both sides, but it is still not clear what exactly both sides want."

This, as the deadline for talks to cut the 25-percent reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration is less than a week away.

He went on to say that his government is looking for "topics in many different fields," as he revisited his principle of "pragmatic diplomacy for national interests."

On North Korea, the Commander-in-Chief vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance as well as the three-way cooperation with Japan, urging the importance of "dialogue and communication."

"It's foolish to completely cut off dialogue. We should listen to them even if we hate them. We should negotiate and talk. When it comes to politics and diplomacy, emotions should be left out."

He added that North Korea's response was quick and better than he had expected to South Korea halting loudspeaker broadcasts, one week after Lee took office in June.

On South Korea's relationship with Japan,

"There are conflicting factors, but I don't think there's a need to mix the two. Those are separate issues. As I said, diplomacy and dialogue continue even amid a war. We cooperate on what we can cooperate on."

He was referring to long-standing controversies between the two neighbors stemming from Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945 as well as territorial issues.

Still, he says he sees a lot of areas to work together with Tokyo, including tackling North Korea's nuclear and missile programs on top of the economic cooperation.

President Lee, who's just one month in office, did not forget to mention his recent visit to the G7 Summit, which he called an official announcement that signalled Korea's return to global summit diplomacy.

Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.