Washington (TDI): The new President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, reached Washington on Sunday for his first ever direct meeting with President Trump.
Being dubbed the Lee-Trump Summit, this meeting follows a last-minute rushed trade deal between the two countries, where pressure from the US loomed large.
The details of the promised billions of dollars South Korean investment in the US, as agreed upon in the July deal, have not been worked upon yet. Chances are that other matters will dominate the summit and these details will be left for technical teams.
Lee’s visit to the US also follows his Japan visit, where he met Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The three being security partners, with Japan and South Korea both enjoying US security umbrella, including on-ground troops and extended nuclear deterrence, are now facing shifting geopolitical realities.
These shifts are largely being dictated by Trump’s transactional foreign policy. South Korea, with a history of significant economic and security relations with the US, now seeks to keep a balance between US and China.
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China is South Korea’s largest trading partner while trade terms with the US have become difficult to navigate since Trump brought in tariffs. Lee, in his meeting with Trump, will be very mindful of this balance.
Another thing which the South Korean President seeks to bring up is the scope of action of US troops in the country which, the US demands, should have the flexibility to advance its anti-China policies – something which is not desirable for South Korea.
Both leaders will also discuss North Korea and its nuclear program, on which they have a convergence of views. Both seek to engage North Korea in a way that it gives up its nuclear arsenal.
South Korea’s new President is liberal and progressive, leading with a vision of economic progress and minimal geopolitical rivalries. However, he fears that Trump might press more military spending and more operating flexibility for its troops.
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