On December 3, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that the state-level apology for the previous administration's handling of anti-North Korean petition circulation will not be publicly mentioned, only revealing that this has been considered.
Speaking at a press conference with foreign media held in the Green House, Jongno District, central Seoul, with the theme "Democracy is renewed: A year of looking back", Mr. Lee explained that keeping the above move a secret is to reduce unnecessary political attacks.
President Lee also said that "all communication channels with North Korea have been completely cut off", emphasizing that Pyongyang "continuously rejected Seoul's dialogue efforts".
The South Korean leader also reaffirmed his stance towards the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
When asked about his relationship with US President Donald Trump, Mr. Lee expressed his excitement when talking about his dialogues with the US leader, describing Mr. Trump as a "realistic, practical and good negotiator".
Mr. Lee called the recent agreement with Mr. Trump on nuclear-powered Submarine a great achievement.
In addition, Mr. Lee also expressed hope for a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the future.
On Russia, he said that the relationship remains important and that he would continue to make efforts to heal through exchanges and cooperation, but also mentioned that South Korea had participated in sanctions against Russia after the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict.
It is true that Russia-North Korea relations are developing in an unfavorable direction for South Korea, Lee said, noting: But we cannot give up. We have to keep trying.
Mr. Lee admitted that despite the desire and need for dialogue with Russia, all efforts to promote this at the present time are very limited because relations with Moscow are still difficult.
