Burc Eruygur
09 July 2026•Update: 09 July 2026
South Korea’s president on Thursday arrived in Mongolia on a three-day state visit in the first such trip by a South Korean head of state in 15 years.
A statement by the Mongolian presidency said that Lee Jae Myung and his wife arrived in the country and were greeted Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh and the ambassadors of both countries.
Noting that the visit comes 15 years after a South Korean head of state last visited the country, the statement said that Lee and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh will hold talks and exchange views on expanding and strengthening their strategic partnership, among other topics.
“During the visit, the parties plan to sign intergovernmental and inter-organizational documents related to expanding and developing relations and cooperation,” the statement said.
It added that Lee and his wife will also be guests of honor at the opening ceremony of the Naadam Festival.
“Through this visit, I hope to elevate Mongolia-Korea relations to a future-oriented ‘strategic partnership’ — and I hope this will be a step toward opening a ‘New Golden Era’ of Mongolia-Korea relations together,” Lee told Mongolian state news agency Montsame.
Expressing his gratitude to Mongolia for its steadfast support of his government's efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula, Lee said their countries face “no shortage of challenges to address together” and that he hopes his visit will create opportunities for tangible results on these issues.
On Mongolia’s role in establishing peace in the Korean Peninsula, Lee said Mongolia has maintained balanced relations not only with China and Russia but with other key regional countries, thus contributing to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
“I believe this diplomatic capacity of Mongolia is more important now than at any time before,” Lee said, noting the role of the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security as a platform for “openly discussing ways to ease regional tensions and build trust.”
“Our government seeks to end the era of hostility and confrontation between South and North Korea and to build a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula. To realize this vision, we plan to comprehensively pursue the expansion and normalization of inter-Korean relations, along with a phased approach to denuclearization,” he said.
He cited the importance of maintaining channels of communication with North Korea and creating platforms for discussing regional peace, in the context of which Mongolia can play a significant role based on the trust it has built up in the region.
“I hope that Mongolia, drawing on the diplomatic trust it has built and the valuable asset that is the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, will contribute even more to peace and stability — not only on the Korean Peninsula but across Northeast Asia as a whole. I believe that the power to create peace comes not from military force, but from mutual trust and dialogue,” he added.
