Trump Arrives in South Korea, to Hold Talks with Lee and Xi Jinping on Trade Issues

Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit being held in Gyeongju, a southeastern city of the country. During the summit, Trump will hold high-level meetings with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade and investment issues.

This marks Trump’s first Asia visit of his second presidential term, with the trip primarily focused on tariff and trade deals. Earlier in the day, President Trump departed from Tokyo aboard Air Force One and landed at Gimhae International Airport in Busan on Wednesday afternoon.

Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung are meeting for the second time in two months to finalize a bilateral trade agreement, the framework of which was set in July. The deal remains a key issue between Seoul and Washington, as both sides have presented differing assessments regarding the negotiation’s progress.

The proposed deal includes South Korea investing $350 billion in the United States, in exchange for Washington reducing tariffs from 25% to 15%. However, discrepancies in the investment package details have delayed its finalization.

On Thursday, Trump is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping—their first meeting since 2019. The discussion is expected to focus on growing U.S.-China trade tensions, especially after China recently imposed export restrictions on rare earth minerals, prompting Trump to threaten an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting November 1.

Trump’s South Korea visit has also sparked speculation about a potential meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though there has been no official confirmation yet. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times—in Singapore (June 2018), Vietnam (February 2019), and Panmunjom (June 2019) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).