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President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump inspect an honor guard during the official welcoming ceremony for Trump at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. South Korea is the second stop of the U.S. president's five-nation Asian tour. He departs for China Wednesday. |
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea greeted U.S. President Donald Trump with an elaborate welcome as he arrived here Tuesday for the first state visit by a U.S. leader in 25 years.
President Moon Jae-in made a surprise visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to greet Trump, who made a stopover to meet U.S. troops there on his way to Cheong Wa Dae. The leaders had lunch together with Korean and U.S. military personnel.
Moon was supposed to wait for Trump at Cheong Wa Dae, but he wanted to meet the U.S. leader first at Camp Humphreys, a symbol of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and show his gratitude and respect for the U.S. troops there, Moon's aides said.
Other than this, the welcoming events, starting from Osan Air Base, took place under a carefully planned scenario.
After coming out of Air Force One at Osan, Trump and U.S. first lady Melania were greeted by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Yoon-je, along with their spouses.
The welcoming ceremony included an inspection of an honor guard and a ceremonial 21-gun salute.
The Trumps moved to Cheong Wa Dae after visiting Camp Humphreys as the first destination of their two-day visit here.
Accompanied by first lady Kim Jung-sook, 50 elementary school children from South Korea and America, including those from the U.S. Embassy and military, greeted Trump at the gate of the presidential house's garden.
About 300 honor guards from South Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force, and their military bands were mobilized for the welcoming ceremony.
The two presidential couples passed by the traditional honor guard and went to a welcome stage as the military band played "Hail to the Chief," the official presidential anthem of the U.S.
"The choice of the music was made after considering the significance of the first state visit of an American president in 25 years," a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
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The two couples inspected the honor guard and exchanged greetings with the invited dignitaries from both countries.
The bands played Moon's signature music, "Mr. President," at the end of the welcoming ceremony, after which the two leaders moved to the main office at Cheong Wa Dae for a summit.
First lady Kim prepared refreshments including dried persimmons coated with chocolate, and tea, while Trump and Moon had a break between the summit and their joint news conference.
"The first lady plucked persimmons from a tree inside Cheong Wa Dae and dried them to prepare the refreshments herself," a presidential official said.
A welcoming dinner took place following the joint press conference.
The dinner began after Moon and his wife greeted the Trumps at the gate of the guest house.
The national anthems of the two allies were played before Moon delivered a welcoming speech and proposed a toast.
Trump also gave a speech in return and proposed a toast accordingly.
Over 120 dignitaries from the U.S. and South Korea were invited to the dinner.
From the Korean side were National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Foreign Minister Kang and Ambassador Cho.
From the U.S. side were Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Marc Knapper.
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