South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has formally called for a “phased approach” to denuclearising North Korea, a plan that begins with engagement and a freeze on further nuclear weapons development. He presented this plan to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state summit.
Lee, who was elected in June, is attempting to find a new path forward after years of stalled diplomacy. He told Xi he was “positive” about the conditions for restarting dialogue, citing recent China-North Korea exchanges.
However, the proposal was dead on arrival in Pyongyang. North Korea, a close ally of China, issued a statement on Saturday dismissing the agenda as an “unrealisable pipe dream.”
The North has completely rejected Lee’s overtures, abandoned its unification policy, and now labels the South its “main enemy.”
President Xi’s visit, his first in 11 years, resulted in seven economic agreements. While South Korean officials said China was willing to cooperate for peace, Chinese media reports on the summit made no mention of Lee’s phased plan or the North Korea issue.
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