JOHANNESBURG — President Lee Jae Myung requested German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to share the European nation’s expertise with overcoming division and reaching its reunification throughout their talks on the margins of the Group of 20 summit in South Africa on Saturday.
Lee made the remarks as his administration has sought to renew engagement with North Korea and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula since taking workplace in June. Pyongyang has remained unresponsive to Seoul’s repeated dialogue overtures.
“There’s a lot for the Republic of Korea to study from Germany’s expertise,” Lee mentioned, referring to South Korea’s official identify. “We must always find out about how Germany overcame division and achieved reunification, and the Republic of Korea ought to comply with that path as nicely.”
When Lee jokingly requested whether or not Germany had any “secret know-how” on reunification, Merz replied that no such factor exists.
Merz mentioned South Korea and Germany have maintained a powerful bilateral relationship, and expressed his hope that cooperation between the 2 nations will additional strengthen.
The German chief additionally mentioned that he’s within the safety conditions on the Korean Peninsula and in its surrounding areas. Furthermore, he needed to hearken to South Korea’s notion concerning China, as Germany is pondering over its personal technique on the Asian superpower.
