
South Korea's Lee says deadline deal on US tariffs will be 'difficult'
STEVEN BOROWIEC
SEOUL -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that it will likely be "difficult" to reach an agreement with the U.S. on looming tariffs by next week's deadline but added that he is pursuing a "win-win outcome" as he endeavors to restore economic vigor to his country threatened by trade tensions and a downturn in consumption.
South Korean officials are seeking an extension before U.S. tariffs take full effect on July 9 and Seoul has sent high-level delegations to Washington seeking a reprieve from the levies that stand to hit key exports such as autos and steel. Both sides have pledged to work toward a mutually satisfactory deal but neither has indicated that a breakthrough is imminent.

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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
South Korea's President Lee eager to visit Japan soon
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung showed his intention to visit Japan at an early date by resuming the two countries' "shuttle diplomacy," or mutual visits by their leaders, in a news conference held in Seoul on Thursday to mark a month after he took office. With the two nations commemorating this year the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization, Lee also voiced his hope that Tokyo and Seoul will release a new bilateral statement, following the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, which called on the two East Asian neighbors to build a future-oriented relationship. Lee, who took office June 4, held his first in-person meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later that month, on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven major countries in Canada, to which the South Korean leader was invited as a guest. Lee said he himself proposed reviving the shuttle diplomacy with Japan, adding that he intended to visit Japan early but that the Japanese side became busy due to the House of Councilors election scheduled for July 20. The president expressed hope to promote dialogue with the Japanese side through repeated mutual visits in order to reduce misunderstandings and facilitate cooperation. Since his inauguration, Lee has engaged in summit diplomacy in earnest, including the participation in the summit among the G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union. At the news conference, he emphasized his plan of improving ties with China and Russia in what he called practical diplomacy, in addition to advancing cooperation with Japan and the United States. On U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariff policy, Lee said that his administration will do its best in its negotiations with the U.S. side to draw a mutually beneficial result. Many South Korean presidents in the past held news conferences about 100 days after taking office. Lee chose to meet with the press a month after becoming president in the belief that he needs to communicate his administration's policy to the public early as he took office without a transition period following the ouster of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his martial law declaration.


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
New South Korean President Lee Eager for Early Japan Visit; Says His Govt will Cooperate on North Korea Abduction Issue
SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday expressed his desire for an early visit to Japan. 'I intend to visit Japan at an early date,' Lee said at a press conference. He will mark one month since taking office on Friday. Regarding the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, Lee said: 'I understand that there is very high interest [in Japan] concerning this matter … If there is anything the South Korean government can do, we are willing to cooperate.'


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
UK PM Gives Full Backing to Reeves after Tearful Appearance in Parliament
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office rushed to give finance minister Rachel Reeves his full backing on Wednesday after she appeared in tears in parliament following a series of U-turns on welfare reforms that blew a hole in her budget plans. Reeves looked exhausted and appeared to brush away tears during the half-hour session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Her spokesperson said it was a personal matter. British borrowing costs rose and the pound fell as the weekly question-and-answer session unfolded on TV, with market analysts saying the moves reflected fears that Reeves would be replaced, throwing the government into further turmoil. Asked about Reeves, a Treasury spokesperson said: 'It's a personal matter, which – as you would expect – we are not going to get into.' Starmer's press secretary told reporters: 'The chancellor is going nowhere, she has the prime minister's full backing.' In an interview pre-recorded on Wednesday and scheduled to air on Friday, Starmer told the BBC's Nick Robinson that Reeves would be chancellor 'for a very long time to come.' The pressure on Reeves comes after the government managed to pass its welfare reform bill, but only after it removed measures that would have led to savings in the long run. Reeves has repeatedly emphasized her commitment to self-imposed fiscal rules, limiting the amount Britain will borrow to try to build the confidence of investors. But that ambition collided with Labour members of parliament who were opposed to the scale of the cuts to welfare, and who said Reeves was being cruel in pushing for billions of pounds of savings from some of the most vulnerable people in society. Opposition politicians and economists said the decision to sharply scale back the welfare reforms meant the government would have to raise taxes or cut spending elsewhere to balance the public finances in the annual budget later this year. LOOKING MISERABLE One Labour member of parliament, who asked not to be named, said Reeves was upset after an argument with the House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle. A spokesperson for Hoyle declined to comment. The opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch singled out Reeves during the weekly set-piece parliamentary session, in which lawmakers put questions to the prime minister in often-raucous exchanges, saying: 'She's pointing at me, she looks absolutely miserable.' Reeves animatedly gestured back. Badenoch said: 'She is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?' Starmer then responded that Badenoch would not be in her job by then, but did not explicitly back Reeves. The appearance of Reeves in tears put British government bonds on track for their biggest daily selloff since October 10, 2022, when financial markets were still reeling from former Prime Minister Liz Truss's decision to announce big, unfunded tax cuts. The pound fell almost 1% on Wednesday. Starmer's press secretary later said the prime minister had expressed his confidence in Reeves many times and did not need to repeat it every time a political opponent speculated on her position. The Treasury spokesperson said Reeves would be working out of Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. Asked if Reeves had offered her resignation, Starmer's press secretary said: 'no.'