President Lee Jae-myung on June 6 holds a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump at the presidential residence in Seoul. (Yonhap News)

By Yoon Sojung

President Lee Jae-myung on June 6 held his first phone summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed close cooperation for development of their bilateral alliance.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung on June 7 in a news release said the two leaders spoke for about 20 minutes from 10 a.m. Korean Standard Time. They agreed on efforts toward quickly concluding a mutually beneficial tariff deal as well as working-level talks to achieve tangible results through an agreement.

President Trump congratulated President Lee on his election victory and invited him to Washington. In return, the Korean leader thanked his American counterpart for his words and stressed the significance of their bilateral alliance, the foundation of Korean diplomacy.

Both agreed on holding a meeting as soon as possible through a multilateral or bilateral visit to hold more in-depth negotiations to reinforce their ties.

Spokesperson Kang said the conversation was held in a friendly and informal manner and that both leaders shared their stories and experiences in presidential elections such as attempted assassinations and political hardships. Their talk was also an opportunity to build trust and friendship at the summit level as well as discuss pressing bilateral issues, she added.

Along with his invitation to the U.S., President Lee will conduct his first summit diplomacy as head of state at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada.

"President Lee has received an invitation to the G7 Summit slated for June 15-17 in Alberta, Canada, and will attend," the spokesperson told a news briefing that day at the presidential office.

Domestic news outlets including Yonhap News reported on President Lee's forthcoming debut in summit diplomacy, indicating the possibility of him holding his first meeting with President Trump while attending the G7 event.

arete@korea.kr