Trump exits G7 early

[Anchor]

The tumultuous international situation has also shaken the G7 summit attended by President Lee Jae-myung.

From the start, President Trump of the United States has been out of sync with issues such as tariffs and war, and he returned home early, citing urgent Middle East issues.

With President Trump's early return, the first Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for tomorrow (6.18) has also been canceled.

The first report comes from KBS correspondent Kim Kyung-soo in Washington.

[Report]

On the second day of the G7 summit, President Trump suddenly returned to the United States.

The White House explained that it was due to "what is happening in the Middle East."

The first Korea-U.S. summit with President Lee Jae-myung, scheduled for tomorrow, has also been postponed.

[Wi Sung-lac/National Security Office Director: "The Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for tomorrow has become difficult. We received a message from the U.S. side asking for our understanding regarding the situation that arose."]

Even without Trump's early return, the G7 meeting was off to a rocky start.

President Trump stated that "excluding Russia from the G8 in 2014 was a very big mistake."

This implies that he does not want to discuss sanctions against Russia at the meeting.

When asked a sensitive question about China's participation in the G7, he spontaneously remarked that "it's not a bad idea."

Moreover, while most member countries demanded the withdrawal of "tariff bombs," they returned empty-handed except for the UK, which signed the agreement.

At least, a statement urging restraint from Iran and Israel was issued, but even amidst that, Trump pressured Iran by saying, "Everyone should immediately evacuateTehran."

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "I think Iran is foolish not to sign one. Iran should've signed the deal."]

This G7 summit has been evaluated as showing that the political landscape of the major seven countries could flow into a confrontation between the U.S. and the other six countries, similar to the Trump administration's first term.

This is KBS News Kim Kyung-soo in Washington.