On August 25, US President Donald Trump said he wanted to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this year, and affirmed his readiness to promote further trade talks with South Korea. The speech was given by Mr. Trump at the White House during his first meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Although the two sides reached a trade deal in July, there are still many disagreements regarding nuclear energy, defense spending and South Korea's commitment to invest $ 350 billion in the US. After the talks, Mr. Lee Jae Myung attended a business forum with US officials and business leaders of the two countries.
During the visit, Korean Air announced an order for 103 Boeing aircraft, the largest in the airline's history. Mr. Lee also invited Mr. Trump to attend the APEC summit in October and suggested holding a meeting with Mr. Kim Jong-un on this occasion.
North Korea did not respond directly to Mr. Trump's statement. The media of this country only accused the US-Korea joint drills of showing the intention to "occurate" the Korean peninsula.
While Trump has stressed his desire to restore direct dialogue, North Korean leaders have ignored the calls, similar to the period after high-level contacts in 2017-2021, which did not reach a deal on the nuclear program.
Mr. Lee Jae Myung warned that North Korea can now produce 10-20 nuclear warheads per year and only lacks atmospheric re-entry technology to complete intercontinental ballistic missiles.
US-Korea security and economic relations still have many sensitive issues. Mr. Trump once called South Korea a money-making machine based on US military sponsorship, while hinted at the possibility of regulating the US military force of 28,500 here. During the meeting, he also mentioned investigations in South Korea related to Sarang Jeil Church and a joint military base with the United States.
President Lee Jae Myung expressed hope that President Trump could play the role of "historic peacemaker" on the Korean peninsula, even mentioning the idea of building a high-end real estate complex "Trump World" in North Korea as a symbol of reconciliation.
