President Lee Jae Myung (right) and U.S. President Donald Trump on June 16 pose for a photo at the official dinner of the G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Hong Angie

President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump on June 16 held talks on pending issues like their bilateral alliance and the situations in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula at the official dinner of the G7 summit of the world's seven major economies.

Oh Hyun-joo, third deputy director of the National Security Office, told a news briefing on June 17 at the media center of a hotel in Geneva that President Lee specifically requested his American counterpart's role in settling peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Sitting next to each other at the dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Presidents Lee and Trump spent about two hours discussing in depth a range of topics, building rapport and mutual trust.

President Lee first congratulated President Trump on the ceasefire concluded with Iran on the occasion of the latter's birthday. Both men said they expected the restoration of stability and peace in the Middle East will lead to the stabilization of international oil prices and global economic recovery.

President Lee also made clear his intent to extend the momentum for peace in the Middle East to the Korean Peninsula, saying, "I look forward to President Trump's active interest and engagement to allow sustainable peace to also take root on the Korean Peninsula, just like it has in the Middle East."

This was taken as another request to President Trump to play the role of "peacemaker," something he has repeatedly emphasized since their bilateral summit last year in Washington.

President Trump responded by pledging to play a necessary role to advance the peninsula's issues, adding that he will seriously consider ways to contribute to peace in the region by maintaining close communication with President Lee.

Deputy Director Oh said President Trump called President Lee a "strong leader" and expressed confidence that both presidents could make major contributions to peace and security on the peninsula as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

shong9412@korea.kr