South Korean President Endorses Trump-Kim Deal for Nuclear Freeze

Mon Sep 29 2025 02:43:51 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a recent interview, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung indicated his willingness to support a Trump-Kim agreement that would freeze North Korea's nuclear weapons production, viewing it as a pragmatic step towards peace.

President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea expressed openness to a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un aimed at freezing North Korea's nuclear arms production. He described this freeze as a realistic and feasible alternative to complete denuclearization for the time being. Lee's administration is actively seeking peaceful relations with the North while managing the ongoing tensions that flared under former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Emphasizing the importance of gradual steps towards denuclearization, Lee believes the potential revival of talks between Trump and Kim could benefit regional and global stability.

South Korea's president has said he would agree to a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in which North Korea agreed to freeze production of its nuclear weapons, rather than get rid of them.

Lee Jae Myung told the BBC North Korea was producing an additional 15-20 nuclear weapons a year and that a freeze - as an interim emergency measure - would be a feasible, realistic alternative to denuclearisation for now.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and vowed to never relinquish its weapons.

So long as we do not give up on the long-term goal of denuclearisation, I believe there are clear benefits to having North Korea stop its nuclear and missile development, Lee Jae Myung said.

The question is whether we persist with fruitless attempts towards the ultimate goal [of denuclearisation] or we set more realistic goals and achieve some of them, Lee added.

President Lee, who entered office in June, wants to establish peaceful relations with North Korea and reduce tensions, which flared under his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached for trying to impose martial law last year.

The South Korean leader has been vocal about wanting President Trump to resume nuclear talks with Kim, which broke down in 2019 during Trump's first term, after the US asked the North to dismantle its nuclear facilities.

In a speech to parliament on Sunday, the North Korean leader suggested he would be willing to negotiate with Trump – but only if the US dropped its demand for the North to denuclearise.

Lee told the BBC that he thought it possible that Trump and Kim could come back together, given they seem to have a degree of mutual trust. This could benefit South Korea and contribute to global peace and security, he added.

The BBC sat down with the South Korean president at his office in Seoul, ahead of his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Historically, South Korea has balanced its relationships between the US - its military ally - and China - which it relies on for much of its trade - but this tightrope is becoming trickier to walk.

Lee was even careful not to discard a future relationship with Russia, which has forged a military partnership with North Korea during the Ukraine war, sending it food, oil and vast sums of money in return for weapons and troops.