Lee arrives in Italy after wrapping up his visit to Belgium

SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung, who is on a trip to Europe, arrived in Italy on Wednesday after wrapping up his itinerary in Belgium.

During the second leg of his two-week trip to Europe, he is scheduled to meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella after a welcoming reception.

Lee will also hold separate talks later in the week with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September last year and again during her visit to Seoul in January.

On Sunday, Lee will attend mass at St. Peter's Basilica and meet Pope Leo XIV before heading to Évian-les-Bains, France to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, to which South Korea has been invited as a partner country.
  During the first stop of his trip earlier in the week, Lee held talks with King Philippe in Brussels, where he asked Belgium to be a strong supporter of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

They highlighted the long-standing friendship, with this year marking the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Lee was quoted as saying he was pleased to meet the king for the first time and described him as a "symbol of Belgium's unity."

Philippe replied that he has visited South Korea five times and witnessed the country's remarkable development over the years, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

Lee also said that this year marks 75 years since Belgian troops first arrived in South Korea's southern port city of Busan to join the Korean War, adding that South Korea will always remember the young Belgian soldiers who "bravely fought" for the country's freedom and peace, and pledged to protect peace and democracy so their sacrifices would not be in vain.

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.