South Korea's Lee says Trump wants North Korea dialogue, rules out Hormuz troops

September 18, 2026 at 10:23 AM2 min

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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday that US President Donald Trump wants dialogue with North Korea and confirmed Seoul will not deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz. Lee said resuming North Korea-US dialogue would be far easier than resuming inter-Korean dialogue, and that South Korea is continuing preliminary coordination efforts. His remarks came as a Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay $32.5 million for blowing up the inter-Korean liaison office in 2020.

Key Facts

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday that US President Donald Trump wants dialogue with North Korea.
Lee reiterated three times that South Korea will not deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz.
A Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay roughly $32.5 million for blowing up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office building in 2020.
Trump said he plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year and that Pyongyang now has 57 'very powerful' nuclear weapons.
The first-ever presidential summit between Seoul and five Central Asian states was held on Wednesday.

North Korea Dialogue

Lee said Trump clearly wants dialogue with North Korea and that such talks are uncertain but not impossible. South Korea is continuing preliminary coordination efforts to facilitate dialogue between North Korea and the US. Lee said the resumption of North Korea-US dialogue would be far easier than resuming inter-Korean dialogue. Trump said he plans to meet Kim Jong Un later this year and that it is important to get along with Kim. Seoul has assessed that Pyongyang has about 80-120 nuclear warheads, while Trump said North Korea has 57 'very powerful' nuclear weapons.

Hormuz Deployment

Lee reiterated three times that South Korea will not deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz. He said there will be no dispatch of troops that will lead to involvement in a conflict and no engagement or involvement in war. Protests broke out in recent weeks opposing a potential deployment of South Korean military assets to the Strait of Hormuz. Lee added that South Korea will carry out the minimum necessary activities to protect its own merchant ships and oil shipping routes.

Regional Relations

A Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay roughly $32.5 million for blowing up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office building in 2020. The office was intended to improve relations on the peninsula but was destroyed amid rising tensions between the neighbours. The first-ever presidential summit between Seoul and five Central Asian states was held on Wednesday, aiming to establish deeper economic engagement with the Russian-allied countries.