Trump asks Lee Jae Myung, "How is the first lady?" 30-minute summit begins and ends with golf

【Financial News, New York (United States) = Choi Jong-geun, staff writer】The Sept. 22 (local time) summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York was hastily arranged after negotiations on investment in the United States made last-minute progress. Although the 30-minute meeting covered issues including the transfer of wartime operational control, nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding cooperation, the two leaders began with relatively light conversation. After shaking hands with President Lee, President Trump asked about Kim Hye-kyung and immediately said, "We should play golf sometime." With the summit now taking place, attention is focused on whether security consultations between South Korea and the United States, which had faced difficulties, will gain momentum.
This was President Trump's third summit with President Lee since Lee took office. The two leaders had also held two informal conversations and two telephone calls. President Trump was reportedly engaged in a packed diplomatic schedule from the morning, and the South Korea–United States summit was the last of his scheduled bilateral meetings that day. It also drew attention that, after a series of meetings with other leaders, Trump sat down with Lee as the final bilateral counterpart of his diplomatic schedule.
Initially, no separate South Korea–United States summit had been confirmed in New York during the leaders' attendance at the United Nations General Assembly. The situation changed quickly after the investment negotiations made progress, leading to the 30-minute summit being arranged at short notice.
The meeting took place alongside a reception hosted by President Trump and his wife. President Lee arrived at the reception venue around 7 p.m. and spoke informally with leaders from major countries. President Trump did not enter the reception immediately but moved to a nearby separate space. President Lee also moved there around 7:20 p.m. and began the summit, according to reports.
A senior Blue House official said, "President Lee went to the reception first and was talking with other leaders, while President Trump came first to a separate venue for the summit," and added, "After the summit, the two presidents joined the reception together."
After President Lee entered the meeting room and shook hands with him, President Trump's first topic was Kim Hye-kyung. A senior Blue House official explained, "President Trump's first comment was, 'How is the first lady?' He immediately followed with, 'We should play golf sometime.'"
The two leaders attached significance to the progress made in broad terms on investment in the United States. According to a senior Blue House official, when the investment issue came up early in the meeting, the two leaders looked toward Secretary Howard Lutnick and exchanged remarks to the effect that the negotiations had been difficult but had ultimately turned out well. However, no specific investment projects were discussed.
A substantial portion of the meeting was devoted to the transfer of wartime operational control. Shipbuilding cooperation, one of President Trump's key areas of interest, was also discussed. The South Korean side conveyed its willingness to accelerate follow-up consultations on shipbuilding cooperation, increase defense spending and assume greater responsibility for defending the Korean Peninsula. It also said discussions on nuclear-powered submarines needed to move forward more quickly.
The meeting did not introduce a large number of new issues. A senior Blue House official explained, "Most of the topics discussed today were already covered in the joint fact sheet, and there were not many new topics," adding, "The main discussion was about restoring and accelerating areas that had been delayed or stalled for various reasons." The focus, in effect, was on returning delayed follow-up issues between South Korea and the United States to a normal track after the investment negotiations made progress.
Golf came up again at the end of the meeting. As the two leaders stood up, they reportedly discussed the possibility of the G20 summit being held in Miami, United States, in December. They also exchanged remarks to the effect that it would be good to play golf together on that occasion.
The two countries agreed to revisit the issues discussed that day in Washington as soon as possible. With the investment negotiations having made progress, they plan to accelerate follow-up discussions on key issues that had lagged, including the nuclear energy agreement, nuclear-powered submarines, shipbuilding cooperation and the transfer of wartime operational control.
Despite the South Korea–United States summit taking place, the government still faces a number of difficult issues to resolve. With the Iran situation becoming protracted, how to respond to U.S. pressure regarding the Strait of Hormuz remains a concern. If issues related to the so-called 'Coupang situation' or proposed amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act come to the forefront, they could become another variable in South Korea–United States relations.


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