President Lee Jae Myung returns from G7 summit in Canada without Trump meeting

President Lee Jae Myung returned home early Thursday after attending the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada and meeting on the margins with some dozen leaders of major countries and organizations.  

Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, at around 1:15 a.m. after making their diplomatic debut on the global stage less than two weeks after the presidential election.  

Over Monday and Tuesday, Lee held a series of bilateral talks with leaders from Japan, Canada, Britain, Australia, South Africa, India, Brazil, Mexico and the European Union, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres. He also spoke on energy security and AI integration in an expanded G7 session.  

However, Lee didn't get to hold a first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump because of the U.S. leader's early return to Washington on Monday. The two leaders could still possibly meet next week if they both attend the NATO summit in The Hague.

"I had a productive discussion with Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, the host of this year's G7 Summit," Lee wrote on X after the talks Tuesday. "As Korea and Canada host the APEC and G7 respectively this year, we will work closely to maximize synergies between the two multilateral forums."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]