Hopefully this summit continues to the positive direction of ROK and Japanese relations:
Takaichi will be received at Daegu International Airport, near Andong, by South Korea’s Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina before heading to a hotel, where she will meet Lee for talks.
Honor guards in traditional costumes and gear will escort Takaichi as she is ushered into the hotel, where a 12-member color guard will welcome her at the entrance, according to presidential officials.
Lee and Takaichi will first hold a small-group meeting, followed by an expanded meeting, before making a joint press announcement on the results of their talks.
Agenda items will likely include bilateral cooperation in response to the ongoing Middle East conflict, security in Northeast Asia and efforts to address disruptions in global supply chains.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like Prime Minister Takaichi and President Lee have formed so far a strong relationship:
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering visiting Korea later this month for a summit with President Lee Jae Myung in his hometown of Andong, Japanese media outlets said Saturday, citing diplomatic sources.
Japan’s Kyodo News and other media outlets reported that Takaichi is expected to visit South Korea on May 19 for a two-day trip and hold talks with Lee in Andong, about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on economic security cooperation, including energy and critical mineral supply chains amid the Middle East conflict.
Takaichi last visited South Korea in October, just nine days after she took office, and held talks with Lee on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.
You can read more at the link.
It is pretty clear that Korea like all the other international countries are going to delay any military support to opening the Strait of Hormuz as long as possible:
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (L) and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pose ahead of their talks at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Wednesday he has told his U.S. counterpart that Seoul will review making phased contributions to Washington’s initiative in restoring safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, Ahn said Seoul conveyed to Washington that it would “participate as a responsible member of the international community and review ways to contribute in phases” while sharing details of his discussions with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, at the Pentagon earlier this week.
Ahn cited the declaring of support, dispatching personnel, sharing information and providing military assets as possible means of participation.
You can read more at the link.
It seems Trump really loves South Korea when its companies are creating American jobs:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that “I love South Korea,” despite his earlier show of displeasure over a lack of support by Seoul and other allies for the United States’ military operation against Iran.
Trump made the remarks during a press availability at the White House, soon after Seoul and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance shipbuilding cooperation as part of last year’s bilateral trade and investment agreement.
“I love South Korea,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about his social media post on Monday that Iran fired at a South Korean-operated cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz — a claim that Tehran has denied.
You can read more at the link.
The Lee administration probably wants to drag out this investigation of the explosion on the ROK cargo ship in order to prevent having to answer hard questions on what to do in response to if it was an Iranian strike:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday rebutted U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that a Korean-operated vessel was attacked as it was acting on its own without U.S. protection in the Strait of Hormuz — a focal point of the ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran.
“The corresponding ship, for several days before the fire broke out, had been anchored in the relevant waters near the United Arab Emirates on the inner side of the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement.
The remarks followed an explosion of unidentified cause that triggered a fire aboard the HMM Namu, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier operated by Korean shipping company HMM, Monday.
You can read more at the link.
Let me get this straight, President Lee gets to choose who the special counsel will be that will have the power to acquit him of all the corruption charges he previously faced before becoming President? Could you imagine if Trump did something like this, the left in the U.S. would be going crazy. However, in Korea you will hear nothing from the left there:
Hong Ihk-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, speaks at a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 4, 2026. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung has stressed the need for public input and careful deliberation, a presidential official said Monday, as the ruling Democratic Party (DP) pushes for a special probe into allegations that he was indicted in multiple cases based on fabricated evidence during the previous administration.
Hong Ihk-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, made the remarks at a press briefing, citing the president, after the DP proposed a bill last week to mandate a special counsel probe.
The bill calls for an independent investigation into suspicions that the prosecution under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration indicted Lee, then head of the main opposition party, in multiple cases, including a real estate development scandal, based on fabricated probes and evidence.
Lee was standing trials on various charges before proceedings were suspended or indefinitely postponed after he took office in June last year.
The bill allows a special counsel to take over Lee’s cases from the prosecution and decide whether to proceed with them, while giving the president the authority to appoint the counsel from among three recommended candidates.
Opposition lawmakers have argued that the proposed bill would give the special counsel grounds to drop charges against Lee, calling it a move to acquit him in the cases.
You can read more at the link, but wouldn’t it be funny that if another Korean conservative takes power that they choose a special counsel to investigate the special counsel that dropped charges against Lee in order to reinstate them? We all know these charges will be dropped because otherwise President Lee would not be doing this.
It looks like the Iranians through a tantrum and went after a docked ship after the U.S. military successfully brought ships through the supposedly closed Strait of Hormuz. Fortunately it doesn’t appear anyone was hurt on the South Korean ship:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has taken shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets, noting that it is time for Seoul to participate in a mission to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Trump made the remarks in a social media post as the United States launched an operation, called Project Freedom, to guide commercial vessels stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, out of the waterway, a key shipping route for oil, fertilizer and other commodities.
“Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” he added.
Trump’s comment on the South Korean vessel came after Seoul’s foreign ministry said that an explosion occurred on a Panama-flagged ship operated by HMM Co., a major South Korean shipping firm, in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the cause of the explosion is under investigation.
The ship was anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates within the strait. It was carrying 24 crew members on board — six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals. No casualties were reported.
You can read more at the link, but the Iranians could sink a South Korean ship and I doubt the Lee administration would do anything about it other than issuing a strongly worded letter. Most of the world realizes the closure of the Strait is a major problem and breach of international law, but would instead prefer the U.S. to do the heavy lifting to open it. They blame the Trump administration for the current conflict while ignoring the fact what would happen if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon and then decided to charge tolls on the Strait? What would the world do then in that scenario? Issue lots of strongly worded letters?
