President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with senior aides and secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Thursday. (Pool Photo via Yonhap)


President Lee Jae Myung will participate in a multilateral summit on ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, to be jointly led by the United K 릴게임갓 ingdom and France, the South Korean presidential office said Thursday.
The confirmation came after a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said earlier in the day that Seoul was “positively consi 야마토게임 dering the president’s participation,” citing national interest and the broader interest of the international community.
“Free and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is in everyone’s 바다이야기게임다운로드 interest and is also important to our national interests, so we are continuing efforts to coordinate with countries that share a similar position,” the official said Thursday, speaking on condition of 바다이야기고래출현 anonymity.
The videoconference will be co-hosted on Friday by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Invitations have been sent to approximately 70-80 par 바다신2다운로드 ties, including several international organizations, according to the official.
The official also said that President Lee "may deliver a message at the meeting, and we are preparing for that possibility.”
The meeting is expected to "cover a broad range of issues, including energy supply chains, positions on the conflict in the Middle East and the need for international coordination to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz," the official added.
When asked about the potential for issuing a joint statement, the official was cautious, saying, “It remains uncertain whether a joint statement will be adopted.”
The meeting follows a series of earlier efforts, including a virtual gathering of military chiefs from 35 countries hosted by France on March 26 and a foreign ministers’ meeting involving more than 40 countries led by Britain on April 2 ? both of which South Korea attended.
The official underscored the significance of the upcoming summit, saying it marks the point at which “the separate efforts led by the United Kingdom and France are beginning to come together.”
“The military track envisioned by France and the diplomatic track pursued by Britain are now converging,” the official said. “With the number of (participating countries) increasing, we believe this could help give more concrete shape to the international response (to securing the Strait of Hormuz).”
Macron said in an X post on Tuesday that the summit would bring together, by videoconference, "non-belligerent countries ready to contribute, alongside us, to a multilateral and purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait when security conditions allow."
A spokesperson for the British prime minister's office also explained the summit aims at advancing work towards a "coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends."