South Korea's Lee heads to Washington for talks with Trump

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung departed for Washington on Sunday (August 24) following talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo. Lee is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday for their first summit.

While largely excluded from the intense trade discussions that resulted in an informal deal last month, the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and strategies for addressing North Korea’s nuclear capabilities will be central topics during the White House meeting, according to officials and analysts.

A contentious point for Lee may be Trump’s demand for South Korea to significantly increase its financial contribution for the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula, a legacy of the Korean War (1950-1953).

During his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba on Saturday (August 23) in Tokyo, where they discussed strengthening bilateral relations, particularly security cooperation under a trilateral pact with the U.S.

Japan and South Korea also share common interests on trade, agreeing to a 15% tariff on U.S. imports of their goods after Trump threatened to impose higher duties.

Copied