SUMMIT Lee, Trump agree to deepen industrial ties, highlighting shipbuilding, energy, defense

President Lee Jae Myung speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Monday. Yonhap

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to expand cooperation in both manufacturing and security during their first summit in Washington, Monday.

During their meeting in the Oval Office, Trump highlighted the shipbuilding sector, signaling his intention to attract South Korean technology and investments to U.S.-based production.

"Now we're going to be buying ships from South Korea. But we're also going to have them make ships here with our people, using our people. And we're going to go back into the shipbuilding business again," Trump said.

His remarks echoed a shipbuilding investment initiative, dubbed “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” (MASGA) by South Korean officials, which is tied to the ongoing tariff and investment negotiations between the two countries.

Lee welcomed the proposal, stressing that South Korea seeks to contribute not only to shipbuilding but also to the broader revival of American industry.

“Making America Great Again is your dream. I believe America is indeed becoming greater — we can see it even in the record highs of the Dow Jones. We hope Korea can join this renaissance, not only in shipbuilding but across manufacturing,” Lee said.

President Lee Jae Myung sits next to U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Monday. Yonhap

When asked about additional areas of cooperation, Trump pointed to energy, citing Alaska’s abundant resources.

"We have more oil and gas and coal than any other nation in the world, by far, and we're going to use it. And that's the thing that South Korea, I think most wants from us," Trump noted.

He also raised the prospect of South Korea purchasing American military equipment, which he described as the best in the world.

"They understand that we make the best military equipment in the world, and South Korea is a big buyer of military equipment and we're going to talk about that also."

When asked about plans to reduce the number of U.S. Forces Korea troops to allow for more flexible deployments in the Indo-Pacific region, Trump said, "I don't want to say that now, because we've been friends and we're friends."

But he indicated interest in acquiring ownership of the U.S. bases in South Korea that are currently leased from the Asian ally.

"I'd like to do is ask them to give us ownership of the land where we have the big fort. You know, we spent a lot of money building a fort and there was a contribution made by South Korea, 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," the U.S. president said.

President Lee Jae Myung sits next to U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Monday. Yonhap

On security matters, Lee emphasized Trump’s influence on the Korean Peninsula and called on him to play a more active role in promoting peace.

“You are not only defending peace but also creating it,” Lee said. “I ask you to help bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the world’s last divided nation. Meet Chairman Kim Jong-un again, maybe even build a ‘Trump World’ resort there so I can play golf with you, and truly establish yourself as a global peace-maker.”

Trump said he had grown “quite close” to Kim after two summits in his first term. When asked about a possible future meeting with the North Korean leader, he replied, “It’s difficult to give a specific schedule, but I hope it can happen this year.”

In a notable diplomatic gesture, Trump also suggested he may attend the APEC summit in South Korea this October. “I think I can go,” he told reporters.

The Oval Office meeting, originally planned for 30 minutes, extended to over 50 minutes, beginning with 20 minutes of opening remarks and followed by roughly half an hour of questions from the press. The session was then succeeded by an expanded summit.