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US, South Korea Eye Closer Ties on Security, Shipbuilding
Trump Downplays Tariff Shift Amid Investment Talks
President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed optimism for close cooperation on North Korea, national security and shipbuilding, though the U.S. leader downplayed the chances for further concessions on Seoul鈥檚 tariff听deal.
鈥淲e can do big progress with North Korea,鈥 Trump said at the White House on Aug. 25 alongside Lee.
The South Korean leader launched a charm offensive on Trump, praising the gold finishes he added to the Oval Office and his peacekeeping efforts, and asked him to focus on ending tensions on the Korean peninsula. Lee even suggested that Trump could construct an eponymous tower in North Korea if peace is made.
Still, Trump indicated that the agreement for a 15% tariff on South Korean imports would likely stick as is, despite Seoul鈥檚 efforts to secure better terms.听
鈥淚 hear they want to renegotiate the deal, but that鈥檚 OK, I don鈥檛 mind that. That doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e going to get anything, but I don鈥檛 mind,鈥 the U.S. president said.
RELATED:听Nations Grow Restless Waiting for Trump鈥檚 Tariff Rollbacks
Trump said he鈥檇 like to have another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that the two had 鈥渂ecame very friendly鈥 over the course of two summits in his first term in office.听
Trump also congratulated Lee on his election and said 鈥渨e鈥檙e with you 100%,鈥 despite comments earlier Aug. 25 that questioned political stability in South Korea and further exacerbated tensions with the decades-old ally.
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The South Korean leader launched a charm offensive on Trump. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
Both leaders nodded to a burgeoning shipbuilding agreement, with Trump pledging to purchase ships from South Korea and Lee acknowledging Trump鈥檚 desire to have Korean shipbuilding in the U.S. employing American workers. Lee鈥檚 government is expected to unveil about听$150 billion听in U.S. investment plans from private companies.
The exchange of pleasantries in the Oval Office nonetheless took place against the backdrop of Trump鈥檚 comments earlier Aug. 25 about political instability in South Korea, following Lee鈥檚 remarks on his way to Washington that he 鈥渃an鈥檛 simply accept鈥 changes to the trade agreement.
The summit in Washington comes a few weeks after the two sides reached a听last-minute trade deal听that capped tariffs on U.S. imports of South Korean goods at 15%, allowing Seoul to avoid the 25% rate that Trump had threatened to impose. But U.S. officials have since signaled dissatisfaction over the terms.
RELATED:听South Korean Companies Reconsider Plants in US Over Trump
The meeting was also expected to feature听thorny issues, including reaching an agreement on defense cooperation, which Seoul initially tried to make part of the tariff deal. U.S. officials have also been eager to pin down South Korea on the specifics of the $350 billion it pledged to invest in the U.S. as part of the deal.
Trump earlier on Aug. 25 blasted South Korea for political instability on social media and elaborated on those comments during a signing of executive orders that stretched more than an hour, keeping Lee waiting past the leaders鈥 scheduled meeting time.
Trump mused on Truth Social that it seemed 鈥渓ike a Purge or Revolution鈥 in South Korea, and later told reporters in the Oval Office that he鈥檇 heard 鈥渢here were raids on churches over the last few days, very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea, that they even went into our military base and got information.鈥澨
The U.S. president quizzed his South Korean counterpart during their meeting about the raids but after Lee explained, Trump said 鈥淚 am sure it鈥檚 a misunderstanding.鈥 It was a sign Lee鈥檚 efforts to charm Trump paid off.
