Since taking office in a snap election in June, the liberal Lee has taken steps to lower tensions with the nuclear-armed North, and the issue is one where he is expected to find common ground with Trump, who still boasts of his historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

FILE – Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)

North Korea ruled out a role for South Korea in any regional diplomatic talks related to Pyongyang and warned of “countermeasures” against “the most hostile state” as it criticized the ongoing military cooperation between Seoul and Washington.