Lee Urges Xi To Mediate On North Korea, Proposes Nuclear Freeze In Exchange For Compensation

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that he asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help rein in North Korea's nuclear programme, arguing that a freeze on weapons development could be "feasible" under the right conditions.

Lee's trip this week was the first visit by a South Korean leader to China in six years. Seoul is seeking a broad reset in ties with its largest trading partner and Beijing's assistance in dealing with the increasingly provocative North.

He met Xi in Beijing on Monday, a day after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan. Speaking to journalists in Shanghai as he concluded the visit, Lee said he had appealed to Beijing to help bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table and to play a mediating role on peninsula issues, including the North's nuclear programme.

"All our channels are completely blocked," Lee said. "We hope China can serve as a mediator — a mediator for peace."

Lee said Xi urged Seoul to show "patience" with Pyongyang given how frayed inter‑Korean ties have become. Lee also acknowledged that actions by South Korea and its allies in the past may have been perceived by the North as threatening.

Proposal And Rationale

Lee outlined a plan where Pyongyang would freeze its nuclear programme in exchange for compensation. "Just stopping at the current level — no additional production of nuclear weapons, no transfer of nuclear materials abroad, and no further development of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) — would already be a gain," he said. He reiterated Seoul's long‑term goal of a Nuclear‑Free Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state and relations between the two Koreas have sunk to their worst levels in years. Lee's predecessor, removed from office last year after a failed bid to suspend civilian rule, is accused of having sought to provoke Pyongyang as a pretext for declaring military rule.

On Monday, Pyongyang said its nuclear forces were "ready for war" and that it was closely monitoring a recent "geopolitical crisis" — an apparent reference to a recent U.S. operation in Venezuela. For North Korea, such actions reinforce long‑standing fears of a so‑called "decapitation" strike and Washington-led attempts to remove the regime.

Regional Implications

Pyongyang has defended its nuclear and missile programmes as deterrence against regime‑change threats from the United States and has accelerated missile testing in recent years. Analysts say the North's testing aims to improve precision‑strike capabilities, challenge both the United States and South Korea, and potentially trial systems that could be exported.

Lee's appeal to Beijing underscores China's unique leverage over Pyongyang and Seoul's hope that a revived diplomatic channel with China could reopen talks and reduce regional tensions. Whether Beijing will press Pyongyang to negotiate remains uncertain, but Lee's visit marked a notable diplomatic reset between Seoul and Beijing.