In first summit with South Korea’s Lee, Trump signals he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim this year
Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 03:51
Updated: 26 Aug. 2025, 09:04
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump chat during their first bilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/26/e959c8e7-a7f1-48e0-bc1a-f388f298479f.jpg)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump chat during their first bilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he is interested in a reunion with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un within the year, responding to a request by President Lee Jae Myung to play a role in bringing about peace on the Korean Peninsula during their pivotal summit in Washington Monday.
During their first in-person talks in the Oval Office, Lee asked Trump to "usher in a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula," indicating he believes that North Korean leader Kim is also waiting for a signal from Washington.
Trump, touting his "very good relationship" with Kim, replied, "I will do that, and we'll have talks if he'd like to meet with me."
Earlier, Lee arrived at the White House at around 12:30 p.m. and shook hands with Trump before heading into their bilateral talks in the Oval Office focused on advancing the alliance through security and economic cooperation.
During their talks, Trump highlighted South Korea's shipbuilding prowess and hopes for cooperation in building vessels.
"We're going to be buying ships from South Korea, but we're also going to have them make ships here, using our people," Trump said, as he stressed that the United States wants to get "back into the shipbuilding business again."
"We're thinking of contracting some ships," Trump said. "They build them very well in South Korea. They're also thinking of coming to our country with some shipyards to start us on the process of building ships again."
"Korea was able to obtain economic growth and development through our ironclad alliance, and going forward, I hope to develop it into a future-oriented alliance that encompasses areas not only limited to security but also the economy, science and technology," Lee said to Trump. "I believe that there is a renaissance taking place not just in the shipbuilding sector but also in the manufacturing industry, and I hope that Korea can be a part of that."
Trump said he and Lee are "going to have some very serious discussions on different things including trade," noting the United States does "a lot of trade with South Korea."
![Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of their first bilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/26/fa0f7c31-6ad9-4fde-b35a-7655164501e7.jpg)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, is greeted by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of their first bilateral summit at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
In turn, Lee asked Trump to play a role in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and noted that the North Korean leader is likely looking forward to a Trump Tower being built in his country. Lee added that he'd also like to play golf there.
Lee also mentioned that Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, had recently issued a statement that denounced him and the South Korean government but indicated Pyongyang didn't have bad relations with Trump.
"The only person that can make progress on this issue is you," Lee told Trump regarding the North Korea issue. "If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by becoming the pacemaker."
"We can do big progress with North Korea," Trump said, telling Lee, "I think your approach is a much better one."
Trump recalled the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and his role in de-escalating heightened inter-Korean tensions through his summits with North Korean leader Kim.
"You had one of the most successful Olympics," Trump said, adding "it was a great honor to get involved and make the Olympics so successful."
When asked about the timing of a reunion with the North Korean leader, Trump told reporters, "I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un in the appropriate future." He later indicated he would like to meet Kim within the year.
"I think he has a country of great potential," Trump said regarding Kim.
Last week, Lee revealed a three-stage road map for a phased denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, comprising a freeze, reduction and dismantling of North Korea's nuclear and missile weapons program.
The summit with Trump was seen as an occasion for Lee to gain U.S. support for his North Korea initiative, while covering trade and security cooperation.
![Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center, and U.S. President Donald Trump chat during their first bilateral summit at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/26/1e6b99b1-c56a-4898-9b98-77816598279a.jpg)
Korean President Lee Jae Myung, center, and U.S. President Donald Trump chat during their first bilateral summit at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The summit came about after Seoul and Washington concluded a trade deal on July 30 that set tariffs on Korean exports to the United States at 15 percent, lower than the announced 25 percent. In exchange, Korea pledged to invest $350 billion in the United States, which includes a $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation initiative dubbed the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again," or MASGA, project.
Trump also noted that South Korea is a "big purchaser of our military equipment" and pointed to the success of U.S. B-2 strategic bombers.
Trump also said he would like to ask South Korea to give the United States ownership of the land where it has a massive military base.
“We spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea," he said. "But I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base.”
Trump also indicated he will be visiting South Korea soon for "trade talks," referring to the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, in late October.
"We will be going there fairly soon," Trump said.
Just two hours before the summit, Trump stumped Seoul officials by posting on Truth Social that it “seems like a Purge or Revolution” is going on in Korea and that “We can't have that and do business there.”
It wasn't immediately clear what Trump was referring to, though former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched declaration of martial law in December 2024 had led to his impeachment and ouster.
When asked about the social media post, Trump later Monday morning told reporters at the Oval Office during a press availability that he heard about “very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea” and that “they even went into our military base and got information.”
Lee explained to Trump during their talks that there might have been a misunderstanding and that a parliamentary special counsel team is investigating Yoon’s martial law imposition on a fact-finding mission. He clarified that no raids were conducted on U.S. bases in this process.
The two leaders held a working luncheon after their talks in the Oval Office.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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