President Lee Jae Myung answers reporters' questions at a press conference at the Cheong Wa Dae banquet hall on Friday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung answers reporters' questions at a press conference at the Cheong Wa Dae banquet hall on Friday. [Yonhap]

Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday pushed back against foreign media reports suggesting that President Lee Jae Myung had rejected a US request for Middle East cooperation, saying Lee's remarks at a press conference Friday did not amount to a refusal.

In a press notice issued Saturday, Cheong Wa Dae said Lee "did not reject" US President Donald Trump's request for South Korea's cooperation on Middle East matters at the Friday press conference.

The presidential office added that the government "has been reviewing practical ways to contribute to protecting its citizens and safeguarding national interests, in close communication with the United States and the international community," and that it "will continue to examine specific ways to contribute under the principled stance of not engaging or intervening in war or combat."

Earlier, The New York Times reported on Lee's remarks at the Friday press conference, saying he had made clear that South Korea would not send troops to Iran. The paper described his position as "Rejecting Trump."

At the press conference Friday at the Cheong Wa Dae banquet hall, Lee reaffirmed his principle of non-involvement and non-intervention in war regarding the question of troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, saying there would be "no troop deployment in a form that engages or intervenes in war."

He added that "this principle has been upheld until now and will remain unchanged," but noted that "it is also clear that we, like other nations, must carry out at least the minimum activities necessary to protect our merchant vessels, oil supply routes and the lives and safety of our citizens."


sang@heraldcorp.com