
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung returned home Saturday after a two-nation trip that included addressing the UN General Assembly in New York and holding talks with US President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, focusing on North Korea denuclearization and bilateral cooperation in AI and defense.
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President Lee Jae Myung undertook a two-nation trip to engage in diplomacy on North Korea denuclearization and strengthen bilateral relations with the United States and Mexico.
President Lee Jae Myung headed home Saturday, wrapping up his two-nation trip that earlier took him to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Lee addressed the 81st UN General Assembly on Tuesday, reaffirming his envisioned role as a "pacemaker" to help the US resume dialogue with North Korea.
The president also presented his phased approach to denuclearizing North Korea, beginning with a halt and reduction of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
The same day, Lee held a summit with US President Donald Trump in New York, during which Trump reaffirmed his commitment to dialogue with North Korea, according to South Korean officials.
On a state visit to Mexico that began Wednesday, Lee held summit talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum the following day and adopted a joint action plan calling for efforts to deepen economic cooperation and expand bilateral collaboration into artificial intelligence, the defense industry and other sectors.
Lee is scheduled to return home on Sunday. (Yonhap)

The Seoul Administrative Court judged that the military authorities' restriction of discharge was justified in a case where a long-term serving Army officer received foreign language training and applied for early discharge in his fifth year, but his discharge was restricted. The court explained that this is a regulation to prevent premature outflow of professional personnel and utilize them within the military in accordance with the Military Personnel Management Act and the old Defense Personnel Management Directive.

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration's expansion of the Department of Homeland Security's SAVE system, allowing states to use it to verify voter lists until the midterm elections. Civil society groups filed a lawsuit, concerned about privacy violations and the risk of deleting legitimate voters, but the Supreme Court halted a lower court's decision to ban its use. Controversy over the accuracy of the system continues as cases of voter deletion due to errors have been revealed in Texas.

The confirmation hearings for Baek Seung-joo, Vice Mayor for Balanced Development and Vice Mayor for Citizens' Sovereignty, Nansil Yoon, who are the first candidates for political office in the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City, will begin on the 5th of next month. Intense verification is expected due to the differences between the duties presented at the time of the contest and the actual work, and controversy over reorganization, and the special hearing committee plans to verify the qualifications of candidates and the entire process of selecting a vice mayor recommended by citizens.

The Incheon International Airport Immigration Office of the Ministry of Justice is pushing to introduce in-flight lunch boxes (6,910 won per meal) as a way to provide meals to expelled foreigners, but some employees are protesting, saying it is excessive support.

The Busan City Council, where the People Power Party holds the majority, announced that it would expand the personnel hearing target from 10 to 22 representatives of all investment and contribution organizations and verify the qualifications of candidates using strict standards. Hearings for candidates such as Shim Jae-un, director of Busan Techno Park, will begin on the 29th, and the level of verification is expected to increase for candidates such as Kim Myeong-soo, chairman of the Busan Facilities Corporation, who have raised controversy over the appointment of political rewards.

Jin Seon-mi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that Sports Toto online sales increased by 42.2% due to deregulation, but the number of buyers decreased by 5.5%, raising concerns about overindulgence, and urged the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation to transparently disclose the management standards for high-value and repeat purchasers and the effectiveness of user protection measures.