South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung to Meet Trump, Excludes Xi; Cho Hyun Emphasizes Inter-Korean Engagement, Japan Ties, and Condemns False Election Claims

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is signaling a pragmatic shift in foreign policy, emphasizing renewed inter-Korean engagement despite North Korea's hostility and closer ties with Russia, which limit prospects for cooperation. Lee's debut standalone summit will be with U.S. President Donald Trump, with no planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping beforehand, according to Foreign Minister nominee Cho Hyun. Cho also stated that the United States has expressed relief over the direction of Lee's government’s foreign policy. In addition, Cho pledged to strengthen and mature relations with Japan and aims to facilitate an early trilateral summit among China, Japan, and South Korea, with Japan serving as this year's chair. Cho condemned domestic false information campaigns, specifically rejecting any tolerance for the spread of falsehoods or incitement related to election fraud claims by figures such as Dan Hyun-myung (Moss Tan), a U.S.-based professor involved in such allegations.