Lee hails trade deal with US as 'great and beautiful'

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump after gifting a replica of an ancient gold crown ahead of their summit at the Gyeongju National Museum in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday described Korea's trade deal with the United States as "great and beautiful," pledging to further strengthen cooperation between the allies.

Lee made the remarks in a post on X, a day after Seoul and Washington finalized an agreement on the details of Korea's $350 billion investment pledge and concluded a trade deal that will lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods and autos from 25 percent to 15 percent.

"What a great and beautiful deal!," Lee wrote on his English-language X account.

Lee said his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, served as a milestone in deepening bilateral ties.

"The summit meeting was a golden time where we further solidified trust and cooperation between the two countries and set a new turning point for advancing the future-oriented ROK-U.S. alliance," Lee said. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, Korea's official name.

During the summit, Lee asked Trump to give permission for Korea to secure nuclear fuel for building nuclear-powered submarines and pledged to increase defense spending as part of efforts to modernize the alliance.

Early in the day, Trump wrote on social media that he gave Seoul approval to build a nuclear submarine, saying it would be constructed at shipyards in Philadelphia.

"Together, we were able to reaffirm the true value of the alliance built on long-standing friendship and cooperation," Lee said. "President Trump and I will continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder for peace and prosperity."