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Lee meets Trump for first bilateral summit — in pictures

Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 11:47 Updated: 26 Aug. 2025, 11:49

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Aug. 25.[AFP/YONHAP]

Korean President Lee Jae Myung attended his first bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.

Lee arrived at the White House around 12:30 p.m., greeting Trump with a handshake before moving to the Oval Office for talks centered on strengthening the alliance through security and economic cooperation.

The meeting followed the two countries’ conclusion of a trade agreement on July 30, which lowered tariffs on Korean exports to the United States to 15 percent, down from the previously announced 25 percent. In return, Korea committed to invest $350 billion in the United States, including a $150 billion shipbuilding initiative called the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” or MASGA, project.

Lee is currently on a six-day diplomatic tour that began in Japan on Saturday. He arrived in the United States on Sunday evening to meet Trump, attend a Korea-U.S. business roundtable and deliver a policy address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

On Tuesday, Lee is set to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and then travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he is expected to visit Philly Shipyard, owned by Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. Lee is scheduled to return to Seoul early Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, welcomes Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House in Washington, on Monday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump upon his arrival at the White House, Aug. 25, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

A fountain pen gifted by Korean President Lee Jae Myung to U.S. President Donald Trump following their first bilateral summit in Washington on Aug. 25. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

A signed MAGA hat and a White House commemorative medal gifted by U.S. President Donald Trump to Korean President Lee Jae Myung after their first bilateral summit in Washington on Aug. 25. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Lee Jae Myung listens to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Korea-U.S. business roundtable at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable reception at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank event in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung holds a press briefing aboard Air Force One on Aug. 24, after departing from Tokyo en route to Washington for the Korea-U.S. summit. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung receive flowers during a meeting with members of the Korean diaspora at a hotel in Washington on Aug. 24. [YONHAP]

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Lee meets Trump for first bilateral summit — in pictures

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