S. Korea’s Lee Encourages Trump to Seek North’s Kim Meeting
(MENAFN) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for fall in North Gyeongsang province, eastern South Korea.
Lee extended an invitation to Trump for the summit and “encouraged” him to pursue a meeting with Kim “if possible,” according to South Korean presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung during a Tuesday briefing. Trump responded to the idea as “a very wise suggestion,” Kang added.
The proposal came amid Lee’s two-day visit to the U.S., where he held his first summit with Trump at the White House on Monday. Trump has previously met Kim three times during his first term, including a historic encounter at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
In addition, East Asian companies pledged approximately $150 billion in investments in the U.S., supplementing a prior $350 billion fund commitment tied to a 15% tariff agreement between Washington and Seoul.
President Lee also announced plans to increase South Korea’s defense spending to take a more “leading role” in securing the Korean Peninsula. South Korea currently hosts around 28,500 U.S. troops, a presence dating back to the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, Lee said, “South Korea will take on a more leading role in maintaining security on the Korean Peninsula. First of all, (we) will increase defense spending.” He did not specify the amount of the planned increase.
The Trump administration has pushed allies to raise defense budgets to as much as 5% of GDP, far above South Korea’s current 2.32%. This year, South Korea’s defense budget stands at 61.2 trillion won ($44 billion).
“At the summit meeting, President Trump and I agreed to modernize our bilateral alliance to be more reciprocal and future-oriented in line with the changing security landscape,” Lee stated.
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