It seems President Lee unlike some leaders in Europe has been doing a good job managing his relationship with Trump:
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump had follow-up discussions on Trump’s earlier request for Seoul’s assistance in building military vessels at the ongoing North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, Lee’s presidential spokesperson said Wednesday.
The two held such discussions the previous day at a dinner banquet hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, according to Kang Yu-jung.
Lee earlier said the U.S. president had asked him whether South Korea could help build U.S. military vessels when they met at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month.
In response, Lee said he would cooperate with Trump’s request as fully as possible, highlighting the advanced capabilities of South Korea’s shipbuilding companies, according to Kang.
The leaders also agreed to continue working-level consultations between their countries to discuss details of the proposed cooperation.
The encounter between Lee and Trump came just three weeks after they met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France.
The leaders recalled their promise at the G7 summit to play golf together, and agreed to pursue Lee’s visit to the United States at an appropriate time, which could include a round of golf, the spokesperson said.
You can read more at the link.
President Lee is pushing for a self reliant defense of Korea, whatever that means:
President Lee Jae Myung on Monday underscored the importance of self-reliant defense capabilities, citing a “very complex and fluid” international situation, as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has disrupted global energy markets.
“I believe self-reliant defense capability is essential to our integrated security posture,” Lee said during a regular security meeting with senior officials, according to Cheong Wa Dae. “We must be able to defend ourselves without relying on outside assistance, and we do have such capabilities.”
You can read more at the link, but if South Korea has so called self reliant defense capabilities than why is President Lee using them to help open the Strait of Hormuz where much of Korea’s energy passes through? Iran is essentially committing an act of war against South Korea by blockading ships designated to go to South Korea from departing the Persian Gulf.
President Lee has faced multiple trials for being a crook, but there is no way he is this big of a crook. This sounds like fake news to me:
President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday lambasted a conservative YouTube channel for airing slush fund accusations against him, calling it “pathetic” and “malicious.”
The reaction came after the YouTube channel run by Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history instructor and now a vocal supporter of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, aired an interview with a man making the allegations.
He argued that Lee is preparing to flee to China and recently transferred 160 trillion won (US$106.5 billion) and military secrets to Chinese authorities in Singapore.
“Secret slush funds and leaking national military information? This is truly pathetic and malicious matador. It must be severely punished,” Lee wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Lee made the remarks by citing a post by Rep. Han Jun-ho of the ruling Democratic Party, who criticized Jeon’s video and urged investigative authorities to step in immediately.
In the YouTube interview, the man claimed that U.S. intelligence operatives have figured everything out, but offered no concrete evidence to support the statement.
You can read more at the link.
President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi play drums together during the informal talks in Japan’s Nara, Tuesday. Yonhap
Trump already signed a trade deal with Japan so we will see if South Korea decides to follow Japan’s lead or not and sign a trade deal as well:
Hosting the APEC summit for the first time in 20 years gives Lee a rare opportunity to welcome the U.S. and Chinese leaders on his home turf after less than five months in office.
Lee is scheduled to hold summit talks with Trump on Tuesday and with Xi on Saturday. Consultations are under way to arrange a meeting with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday.
The stakes are particularly high for Lee’s meeting with Trump as Seoul and Washington are in intense negotiations to narrow gaps over South Korea’s US$350 billion investment pledge, aimed at finalizing a trade deal that would reduce U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
Whether the two sides can clinch an agreement in time for the summit remains uncertain as negotiations continue over key sticking points, including the financing of the investment package.
Wednesday’s summit will mark Lee and Trump’s second in-person meeting following their August talks at the White House.
You can read more at the link.
