Lee arrives in Gyeongju ahead of upcoming summit with Trump
President Lee Jae Myung arrives at Seoul Air Base, south of Seoul, Monday, from his trip to Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Yonhap
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Gyeongju, the host city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, on Tuesday, ahead of high-stakes talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Lee arrived in the city in the afternoon in his capacity as APEC chair, with no official public schedule planned for the rest of the day, the presidential office said in a press notice.
Lee is set to hold summit talks with Trump on Wednesday, after delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the APEC CEO Summit earlier that day.
The stakes are high for Lee's meeting with Trump, as Seoul and Washington engage in intense negotiations to narrow gaps over South Korea's US$350 billion investment pledge, aimed at finalizing a trade deal that would reduce U.S. tariffs on Korean goods.
Whether the two sides can clinch an agreement in time for the summit remains uncertain as negotiations continue over key sticking points, including the financing of the investment package.
Wednesday's summit will mark Lee and Trump's second in-person meeting following their first talks in August at the White House.
The main APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place Friday and Saturday. Lee is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday.