South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung says he'll bolster U.S.-Japan ties, pursue talks with North

South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung vows to restart talks with North Korea and strengthen trilateral partnerships.

South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday (June 4, 2025) to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year term.

Mr. Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea's leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, formally began his term earlier Wednesday, a day after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year.

In his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Mr. Lee said that his government will deal with potential North Korean aggressions with “strong deterrence” based on the solid South Korea-U.S. military alliance. But he said he would “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation.”

He said he'll pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighbouring countries and boost trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation based on the robust South Korea-U.S. alliance.

"Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximise our national interests,” Mr. Lee said.

It was unclear whether Mr. Lee's election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea's foreign policy. Mr. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea's alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy.

The toughest external challenges awaiting Mr. Lee are U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy and North Korea's advancing nuclear programme. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can't do much to secure major progress in South Korea's favour on those issues.