South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, proven talking Aug. 15, 2025, is because of meet with President Trump right through his first discuss with to Washington, D.C.
Ahn Younger-joon/AP
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Ahn Younger-joon/AP
SEOUL, South Korea — En path to his first summit with President Trump, South Korea’s president has driven again towards U.S. power to refocus his nation’s 71-year-old army alliance with the U.S. clear of deterring North Korea and towards countering China.
“This isn’t a subject matter we will simply accept as true with,” Lee Jae-myung instructed newshounds right through his flight to Washington, D.C., hinting on the demanding situations looking forward to him on the White Area.
The Trump management is looking for modernizing the 71-year-old U.S.-South Korea alliance, solid within the wake of the Korean Warfare.
The U.S. has some 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. For roughly twenty years, it has known as for “strategic flexibility” to deploy them to satisfy safety demanding situations clear of the Korean Peninsula. And it desires South Korea’s fortify, together with doubtlessly sending troops to different nations and areas.
South Korea has prior to now despatched infantrymen to help the U.S. in Vietnam and Iraq. However it considers North Korea, now not China, its major risk, and does now not need to get dragged right into a battle with China over, for instance, Taiwan.
“For the South Koreans, what is at stake is in reality alliance credibility, and likewise protection and deterrence towards North Korea,” says Andrew Yeo, a professional on Asia and U.S.-South Korea family members on the Brookings Establishment in Washington, D.C.
Lee Jae-myung mentioned over the weekend that he’s going to carry a complete vary of problems associated with North Korea with President Trump, together with the wish to interact diplomatically. Pyongyang continues to insist that it has little interest in discussion with Seoul or Washington.
Ban Kil Joo, an affiliate professor on the Institute of Overseas Affairs and Nationwide Safety, a South Korean government-funded assume tank, says cooperating with the U.S. on strategic flexibility would assist “step up South Korea’s leverage over the US.”
On the similar time, Ban says, “South Korea must keep away from designating the identify of a particular nation [China] as a significant risk that those two nations will have to offset or counter.”
South Korea’s problem of securing a industry deal
For many years, the default atmosphere for lots of U.S. allies and companions in Asia has been to rely at the U.S. army for safety, whilst depending on China for markets and industry.
Lee Jae-myung desires to say autonomy and independence from the massive powers, however it is not transparent what choices he has rather then strolling a effective line between them.
Lee additionally has the ambitious problem of turning a verbal settlement and free framework, agreed upon remaining month, right into a full-fledged industry maintain the U.S.
To decrease U.S. price lists on South Korean exports from 25% to fifteen%, South Korea has pledged to take a position $350 billion within the U.S.
The U.S. says Trump gets to pick out the investments, and the U.S. will reap 90% of the income. South Korea’s business minister has mentioned that declare “does now not make sense.”
Lots of the $350 billion will likely be within the type of loans and promises, moderately than direct investments.
The investments might come with $70 million that South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. will spend to enlarge shipyards in Philadelphia, which President Lee Jae-myung will discuss with right through his U.S. travel.
It is one instance of the way the U.S. is depending on South Korea to revitalize home production, and compete with China for dominance in hi-tech sectors, corresponding to semiconductors.
However industry pressures also are one explanation why that Lee selected an abnormal itinerary to the U.S.
Of 10 South Korean presidents since 1980, Lee is the one one to make his first in another country bilateral discuss with to a rustic rather then the U.S. – on this example, Japan (two visited Europe first for multilateral conferences earlier than visiting the U.S.).
As lately as 2019, ties between South Korea and Japan have been badly strained over ancient and industry disputes, and the U.S. needed to cajole the 2 to position apart their variations and cooperate on present safety demanding situations, together with coping with North Korea and China.
While South Korea and Japan competed to curry prefer with the U.S. for many years, the Trump management has now flipped the script, prompting the 2 neighbors to check notes on how you can maintain the hazards posed via the U.S.
“We have skilled events when the U.S. needed to paved the way for trilateral cooperation since the dating between South Korea and Japan had soured,” South Korea’s Nationwide Safety Consultant Wi Sung-lac defined.
“This time, South Korea and Japan lead the trilateral ties,” Wi instructed newshounds in Tokyo.
NPR’s Se Eun Gong contributed to this record in Seoul.
