Watch where she goes: Steel’s meetings hint at Trump’s Korea agenda

Three meetings, three pressure points. Since presenting her credentials to President Lee Jae Myung on Aug. 12, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel has met her Japanese, Israeli and Canadian counterparts — whose countries are closely tied to the security, Middle East and trade issues the Donald Trump administration has recently raised with South Korea. 

Diplomatic circles are watching Steel’s itinerary for clues about Washington’s immediate priorities.

Steel first met with Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima, a week after U.S. President Donald Trump said he ordered the reduction of a joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise and strongly signaled his willingness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Continued coordination among our three countries will help advance our shared vision for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Steel wrote on X after the meeting.

Earlier in the month, the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint drill was cut to last only five days instead of its originally scheduled 11 days. 

Earlier in the month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader.

Concerns have since grown that South Korea and Japan could face a direct threat if Washington effectively accepts North Korea’s nuclear arsenal during talks with Pyongyang.

Against that backdrop, Steel’s meeting with the Japanese ambassador was seen as a signal that Washington intends to maintain the framework for trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

Iran also appeared in the same Aug. 16 post in which Trump announced plans to scale back the joint military exercises.

Trump claimed that he had asked Lee to join efforts to denuclearize Iran but received a “No thanks!” in response.

Steel disclosed another meeting on Monday, this time with Israeli Ambassador to South Korea Raphael Harpaz. Israel is a party to the ongoing war in Iran. Steel’s husband, attorney Shawn Steel, a longtime Republican activist, also attended the meeting.

On the same date, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," an economic campaign against Iran and its allies and signaled plans to expand secondary sanctions against individuals and institutions in third countries that do business with Iran.

The broader sanctions could put South Korean companies and financial institutions within their reach. The repercussions of the Iran war could therefore extend directly to Korea.

Steel disclosed her meeting with Canadian Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lafortune on Tuesday.

Canada has become a prime example of how even traditional U.S. allies are not exempt from Trump’s trade pressure. After U.S.-Canada trade negotiations broke down, the United States imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports on Saturday.

Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on Tuesday. The measures impose tariffs of 15 to 50 percent on around 700 U.S. products worth a similar amount.

Korea also faces major trade issues with Washington, including the implementation of its $350 billion investment commitment to the United States, tariffs and issues involving Coupang.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report in July accusing the Korean government of discriminatory regulation against U.S. companies — especially Coupang. 

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission imposed fines totaling 624.7 billion won ($451 million) on Coupang in June over personal data leaks, the collection of personal information without a legal basis and other issues.

“The meetings are largely customary introductions, but the timing offers a glimpse of where Washington’s attention is focused,” a source said. “It is worth noting that all three countries are tied to issues on which the Trump administration is currently pressuring [South] Korea or making demands of Seoul.”

BY YOON JI-WON [[email protected]]