Lee calls for swift resumption of North Korea-US talks, outlines phased denuclearization

President Lee Jae Myung laid out a peace blueprint for the Korean Peninsula in his keynote address at the 81st UN General Assembly on Tuesday (local time), calling for the resumption of stalled North Korea-US dialogue and urging US President Donald Trump to play a role in halting the North's advances in nuclear and missile capabilities. Lee also raised the prospect of multilateral cooperation among South Korea, North Korea, the United States and China.

Taking the podium after Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh that afternoon, Lee said a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula was a long-standing goal that both Koreas as well as the United States, China and other relevant countries had recognized and discussed. "Fortunately, a possibility for change has been painstakingly created through President Trump's resolve," he said.

Lee said South Korea would work to lay the groundwork for the long-suspended North Korea-US talks to resume as soon as possible and for those talks to develop into broader dialogue among the parties aimed at ending the war on the Korean Peninsula and establishing a peace regime.

"Through this process, we will be able to halt the North's advancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities, reduce them over the medium term, and ultimately move toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in the long run," he said.

The address marked Lee's second consecutive appearance on the UN stage with a Korean Peninsula peace blueprint. At last year's UN General Assembly, he introduced the E.N.D. Initiative — standing for Exchange, Normalization and Denuclearization — as a framework for ending the Cold War structure on the peninsula.

This year, however, Lee drew attention by offering a more pragmatic proposal: rather than leading with denuclearization as the immediate condition for bringing North Korea to the table, he suggested an agreement under which the North would freeze its nuclear and missile development in exchange for an easing of international sanctions.

In an interview with local media in New York on Tuesday, Lee said, "Rather than demanding that North Korea dismantle its nuclear weapons program, we should demand that it freeze it."

Should North Korea-US talks resume, observers will be watching how Lee's phased denuclearization framework — freeze, reduce, then dismantle — shapes the negotiations.

Lee outlined three pillars of his vision for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula: inclusive peaceful coexistence, stable peaceful coexistence and responsible peaceful coexistence.

On the first pillar, Lee said South Korea would respect the North on the international stage and cooperate where cooperation is possible. "I hope a path opens for joint cooperation on shared global challenges such as health, disaster response and the climate crisis," he said.

Lee also presented three visions under what he called the "K-Initiative" — South Korea's contribution to shared global challenges. The core elements are a global AI basic society, a green transformation and solidarity for a global energy supply chain.

"South Korea envisions a 'global AI basic society' in which no country and no person is excluded from the fundamental benefits of AI development," Lee said. "We will take the lead in making artificial intelligence a tool to solve common challenges facing humanity, including the climate crisis, public health, food security and the refugee crisis."

Lee also emphasized solidarity for a global energy supply chain amid instability in the Middle East, proposing what he called a "constructive contributor solidarity" framework.

He described the concept as "not about creating a new institution or an exclusive group," but rather about countries cooperating "in a flexible and open manner in areas where each has its own strengths, while gradually expanding the scope of that cooperation — all while respecting the existing international order and the functions of the UN." Lee's keynote address lasted 17 minutes.

North Korea's delegation, which had remained in the hall during Trump's address, vacated its seats when Lee took the podium.

Kim Hye-kyung, who accompanied Lee to New York, engaged in spousal diplomacy alongside other leaders' partners, attending an event to discuss children's digital environments and the future of education.

Kim attended a luncheon hosted by US first lady Melania Trump for the "Fostering the Future Together" coalition.

Also on Tuesday, Lee approved the appointments of Lee So-young as minister of SMEs and Startups and Lee Jeong-hyeon as deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, completing the formation of his second-term cabinet.

The appointments of Lee Hyeong-il as deputy prime minister and minister of Economy and Finance, Kang Shin-cheol as minister of National Defense, and Hong Ji-seon as minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport were approved on Tuesday.