Lee's office says summit with Trump under review, reports 'concrete progress' on Korea-Japan summit
CALGARY, Canada -- President Lee Jae-myung's first summit with US President Donald Trump is still under review, the presidential office said Monday, following reports that Trump may depart Canada earlier than expected.
'I can say that a Korea-US summit had been planned,' an official of the presidential office who declined to be named. 'But the situation is currently under review.'
The official declined to elaborate on the cause of the uncertainty, but said the office also learned from the news report. The official also did not immediately confirm whether Lee had been notified of Trump's early departure during his trip to Canada.
While the proposed summit with Trump remains unclear, talks for a separate meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are moving forward.
'There has been concrete progress on the Korea-Japan summit,' the official said.
During his flight to Canada, Lee told reporters that he would work to "ensure at least that (South Korea) will not be placed in a more disadvantageous situation."
Lee is scheduled to attend the expanded session of the G7 and hold bilateral talks with leaders there, but the presidential office has yet to disclose who the leaders would be. Lee is set to depart Canada on Tuesday and return home Wednesday evening.
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