President Lee Jae-myung Heads Home After US and Mexico Tour

President Lee Jae-myung departed for home on the 26th (local time) after wrapping up his five-night, seven-day tour of the United States and Mexico. The president attended the UN General Assembly, held a South Korea-US summit, and made the first state visit to Mexico in 16 years. He is expected to arrive at Seongnam Airport on the 27th, transiting through Anchorage.

Notably, the outcome of the tour was the hastily arranged South Korea-US summit. President Lee met with his US counterpart for 30 minutes starting at 7:20 p.m. on the 22nd in a meeting not previously on the schedule. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said at a briefing on the 22nd that, based on the joint statement issued by the two leaders, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation on nuclear submarine fuel, enrichment and reprocessing, shipbuilding, and the transfer of wartime operational control, and to continue follow-up consultations.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on the 22nd, President Lee laid out three blueprints for "peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula": inclusive peace and coexistence, stable peace and coexistence, and responsible peace and coexistence.

"Having attended the UN General Assembly—the world's largest multilateral diplomatic stage—for two consecutive years, the president actively leveraged it as an opportunity for comprehensive diplomacy to advance national interests," said Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, at a briefing in Mexico on the 25th (local time). "It elevated Korea's standing as a globally responsible power and strengthened the international foundation of support for our Korean Peninsula policy," he added.