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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in Washington on Monday for his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, following several days of heightened tensions with North Korea.
Inter-Korean relations were already fragile. Last year, Pyongyang labeled the South a “hostile state,” and Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un officially abandoned the goal of eventual reunification. The regime has also expanded its ballistic-missile and nuclear programs, citing “provocations” from U.S.-South Korean military drills and deploying troops to join Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
North Korea issued a scathing statement Saturday criticizing South Korea for firing more than 10 machine-gun warning shots on Tuesday as North Korean troops worked on a barrier near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the de facto border. About 30 North Korean soldiers had crossed the MDL and ignored several loudspeaker warnings, according to the U.S.-led United Nations Command.
The UNC acknowledged that North Korea had notified it in advance about the planned construction activities. The statement said: “We remain ready to engage KPA [Korean People’s Army] counterparts on this and other potential issue areas related to our standing agreements.”
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[Image: An MQ-9A Reaper sits in a hangar at Gwangju Air Base, South Korea.]
Kim oversaw the testing of two “improved” types of air-defense missiles on Saturday. North Korean state media reported that these missiles, built with domestic “special technology,” can quickly intercept incoming cruise missiles and drones.
North Korean state media issued another broadside Sunday, targeting Lee’s summit a day earlier with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo. The trip was notable for breaking precedent: Lee met the Japanese leader before visiting his U.S. counterpart, despite Seoul’s defense treaty with Washington. This move aimed to stabilize South Korea’s often frosty ties with Japan as both neighbors, covered by Washington’s nuclear umbrella, tightened security cooperation with the U.S.
The article accused Lee of “using peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region as a bargaining chip, acting as a scout for realizing aggressive U.S.–Japan–ROK triangular military cooperation to be within his American master’s consideration.”
Last month, the United States sent its first MQ-9 Reaper drone to the South Korean Air Force’s Gwangju Air Base. This long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft is designed for both reconnaissance and strike missions. The 163d Attack Wing deployed the unmanned aerial vehicle, stating it would “advance mission readiness now and in the future.”
Lee has said North Korea will be among the issues he brings up during his discussions with Trump. As a liberal from the Democratic Party who took office in June, Lee calls for a less confrontational approach than his hardline predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Still, Lee says the U.S. alliance, under which 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea, should remain focused on North Korean threats. He pushes back against calls in Washington to broaden its scope to include China.
U.S. and South Korean forces are holding the first phase of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises through August 28.
