WASHINGTON — U.S. experts on Friday underlined pragmatism as a key driver of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s diplomacy to navigate complex relations involving the United States, China and Japan, as he has sought to foster rapport with their leaders and deepen practical cooperation with them. Pragmatism has been a central tenet of Lee’s foreign policy, as he seeks to strengthen the decadeslong alliance with Washington and ensure stable ties with Beijing amid a deepening Sino-U.S. rivalry, while pursuing enhanced cooperation with Tokyo despite lingering historical grievances. During a podcast hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), experts highlighted that Lee’s pragmatic approach was at work during his visits to Beijing and Tokyo this month for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “I think President Lee’s proven to be the ultimate pragmatist,” Randall Schriver, former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said. “It’s hard to really define a lean one way or the other as he’s ma
