South Korean President Lee Jae Myung waves as he and first lady Kim Hea Kyung prepare to board the presidential jet bound for Washington for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo on Sunday Photo by YONHAP/EPA
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has arrived in Washington for his first-ever meeting Monday with President Donald Trump, a high-stakes event that could help set the tone for the allies’ economic and security partnership during Trump’s second term.
“There is a great sense of responsibility for the national interests of the Republic of Korea, which is thoroughly self-centered in international diplomacy,” Lee said at a press conference in Washington.
“The Korea-U.S. alliance is the basis of diplomacy, but it cannot be insulated from China.”
Lee arrived in the U.S. capital after he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo and said he learned more about negotiations between the United States and Japan, as well as receiving advice on negotiation style.
“This summit is an opportunity for Lee Jae Myung to establish a personal rapport with Donald Trump to build a positive, collaborative relationship so that the allies are capable of resolving differences and working collaboratively on issues of mutual interest,” Thomas Byrne, president of The Korea Society, said a few days before the meeting.
He added: “A positive signal was sent when Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month stated that the U.S. looks forward to working with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, while characterizing the bilateral alliance as ‘ironclad.'”
Lee is to be joined by 15 of the largest Korean business leaders, signaling that investment and trade will be the center of the visit. Making use of Korea’s partnership with Westinghouse Electric LLC to build nuclear plants in the United States also could be on the agenda.
“During the upcoming summit, Trump and Lee are likely to review the trade deal agreed to in June and may make an announcement regarding certain cutting edge aspects of a broadening economic relationship, including the wave of Korean investment in the manufacturing industry in the U.S. and evolving cooperation in the highly strategic shipbuilding and maintenance, repair and overhaul sectors,” Byrne said.
South Korea already has a footprint in American shipbuilding — Hanwha, a South Korean conglomerate, acquired the historic Philly Shipyard in December 2024. The U.S. Navy ceased most operations at the shipyard in 1996, and it turned to constructing commercial vessels.
In addition, Lee is expected to further discuss details of the recently negotiated trade deal that lowered Trump’s tariffs on Korean imports from 25% to 15%.
“South Korea hopes to confirm recent trade deals, lower tariff risks and expand cooperation in areas like semiconductors, autos and defense,” said Munseob Lee, an associate professor of economics and Krause chair of Korean studies at the University of California-San Diego.
“On security, the two leaders are expected to talk about the cost of U.S. troops in Korea and how to keep the alliance strong,” he said.
One of the most sensitive issues from Trump’s first presidency was how much South Korea pays to support the presence of U.S. troops on its soil, and Lee potentially will discuss a proposal during his visit to increase cost-sharing support.
“We think that President Lee will strive to emphasize the mutually beneficial nature of the U.S.-ROK alliance. The president has reportedly drawn up a proposal to increase Korea’s cost-sharing support for hosting U.S. troops,” Byrne said.
He added: “During Trump’s first administration, the Special Measure Agreement was a highly contentious issue with President Trump. Strategic flexibility, the concept that U.S. troops in Korea may be called to respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, could be another critical issue for the two leaders to discuss.”
For Seoul, the debate over troop “strategic flexibility” is inseparable from the Taiwan Strait, where rising tensions with China pose risks that extend beyond the peninsula.
According to Munseob Lee’s perspective on including Taiwan in the conversation, he said, “This visit also fits into a larger strategy in the Indo-Pacific, especially working more closely with the U.S. and Japan at a time of rising regional tensions. South Korea wants a practical, forward-looking alliance that benefits both sides.”
North Korea will also loom large over the visit. Both Trump and Lee have signaled interest in keeping diplomacy with Pyongyang alive, but doing so will be more complicated this time.
That’s largely because North Korea has deepened military and economic ties with Russia, complicating efforts to draw it back into negotiations.
“Lee and Trump are on the same page in terms of seeking to use diplomacy to pursue rapprochement with North Korea,” Byrne said. “The difficult task will be on how to pull Pyongyang away from its embrace of Moscow.”
For Lee, the trip could be about more than policy deliverables — a priority is establishing personal rapport with Trump, something past South Korean leaders have found critical in navigating the U.S. alliance.
Whether the two leaders emerge from the meeting with concrete announcements or mainly a show of solidarity, the summit will offer early clues about how the Trump administration intends to approach its partnership with South Korea for the rest of the administration.
All things considered, “President Lee’s meeting with President Trump is an important chance to show the strength of the U.S.-Korea partnership,” Munseob Lee said.
