Possibility of G7 Including Korea... US State Department Says "No Related Discussions"

On the 15th (local time), the U.S. Department of State stated that it is "unaware of any related discussions" regarding the possibility of expanding the Group of Seven (G7) to include South Korea, thereby forming a G8.

Vedant Patel, the State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson, said during a briefing that "Ahead of the upcoming summit, we are not aware of any discussions regarding changes in membership. We first need to see the meeting take place."

Although South Korea is not a G7 member, there have been suggestions of expanding the G7 to include South Korea amid improvements in the South Korea-U.S.-Japan relationship. Earlier, the U.S. Heritage Foundation, in a report on the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in March, stated that "the need to expand the G7 to counter threats from China and Russia is more urgent than ever," and recommended that "South Korea, as one of the world's leading liberal democracies, deserves a place in the G7." President Yoon Suk-yeol is also invited to attend the G7 summit to be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from the 19th to the 21st.

Regarding sanctions related to the resumption of economic exchanges between North Korea and China, Deputy Spokesperson Patel explained, "Our position is that countries with influence over North Korea should play a role in responding to security-threatening activities that we frequently observe." He added, "One of these countries is China. United Nations Security Council sanctions are already in effect against North Korea. We will not speculate in advance on whether such actions constitute violations of sanctions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.