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President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung wave to well-wishers from Code One at Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Mexico City on the 26th local time after wrapping up their state visit to Mexico. / Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung departed for home on the 26th local time, wrapping up a seven-day, five-night trip to North and Central America that included attending the UN General Assembly and a state visit to Mexico.

Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication Sung Ki-hong remarked during a press briefing in Mexico on the 25th regarding the tour, "Attending the UN General Assembly—the world's largest multilateral diplomatic arena—for the second consecutive year, the president actively utilized it as an opportunity for comprehensive diplomacy to advance national interests."

A key highlight of the U.S. leg was a bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, arranged on short notice in New York on the 22nd.

Meeting for approximately 30 minutes, the two leaders assessed progress on strategic investment negotiations with the U.S. and agreed to pursue follow-up discussions on nuclear-powered submarine fuel, uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, shipbuilding cooperation, and the transition of wartime operational control.

Following the U.S. itinerary, President Lee made a state visit to Mexico at the invitation of President Claudia Sheinbaum, marking the first such visit by a South Korean head of state in 16 years.

The two leaders held a summit on the 24th and concluded negotiations to revise the South Korea-Mexico Bilateral Investment Treaty, which had been underway for seven years.

The two nations agreed to pursue a joint study on mutual economic interests to explore potential cooperation spanning industry and supply chains alongside trade and investment, while expanding collaboration into sectors such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, and defense.

During a joint press announcement, President Lee stated, "Concluding a trade agreement is critical to expanding bilateral trade and investment and fostering a stable business environment."

Meanwhile, President Lee is scheduled to arrive at Seongnam Airport on the 27th via Anchorage on the 26th. Upon his return, he is expected to address a backlog of domestic challenges, ranging from tensions with the judiciary over the renomination of a Supreme Court justice to the DMZ explosion incident, real estate market stabilization, and appointments across the presidential office and cabinet.

                                                                                                        Park Young-hoon