Crystal Dike
U.S. President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday, marking the final leg of his week-long tour of Asia. The meeting, held in Gyeongju, comes as both countries continue to struggle to finalize a long-awaited trade deal.
Despite a private two-hour meeting between the two leaders, no breakthrough was announced. A trade agreement had initially been unveiled in late July, under which Seoul would invest $350 billion in the United States to avoid harsher tariffs. However, talks over the structure of those investments have since stalled.
Trump’s visit to South Korea follows mounting tensions after hundreds of South Koreans were detained in an immigration raid in the U.S. last month. The issue has strained ties between the two long-standing allies, already burdened by tariff disputes.
Ahead of the talks, President Lee presented Trump with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea’s highest honor, and a golden crown, which Trump joked he would like to wear. The award was given in recognition of his “contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula,” according to the presidential office.
While the discussions failed to produce a new trade deal, Trump reiterated his commitment to strengthening economic and security cooperation, telling a business forum in Gyeongju that “economic security is national security.”
The U.S. had imposed a 25% tariff on South Korean exports earlier this year, later reduced to 15% after Seoul agreed to the investment package and pledged to purchase $100 billion in U.S. liquefied natural gas. However, Washington has since pushed for additional cash investments, prolonging negotiations.
Trump’s arrival in South Korea came shortly after North Korea test-fired surface-to-air cruise missiles, underscoring ongoing regional tensions. Trump said he had expressed interest in meeting Kim Jong Un, but that “scheduling issues” had prevented the encounter.
Outside the summit venue, small groups of anti-Trump protesters clashed with police, while larger pro-Trump crowds gathered nearby, some waving U.S. flags and chanting slogans critical of China.
The meeting in Gyeongju precedes Trump’s upcoming encounter with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting, which will be the first between the two leaders since Trump took office earlier this year and imposed global tariffs.
During his earlier stops, Trump signed a rare earth minerals agreement with Japan and hailed a “golden age” in U.S.-Japan relations. In Malaysia, he presided over a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia, ending a border dispute that reignited in July.
While hopes for a U.S.-South Korea trade breakthrough remain dim, Trump said he was “optimistic” about future progress with both Seoul and Beijing, insisting that “we’re going to have a deal—and it’s going to be a good one for both sides.”