Trump to hold bilateral talks with Lee, Xi in Korea next week: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 25 in Washington. AP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump will have bilateral meetings with Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Korea next week, the White House said Thursday, as he plans to visit the Asian country on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump plans to have talks with Lee on Wednesday, and meet Xi the following day, as she officially announced the plan for Trump's Asia trip that will also take him to Malaysia and Japan.

Trump is set to engage in these high-profile meetings as Korea will host the APEC gathering in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

Following the planned talks with Lee on Wednesday, Trump plans to deliver keynote remarks at the APEC CEO luncheon and then participate in a U.S.-APEC leaders' working dinner, Leavitt said.

In what will be their second in-person meeting, Lee and Trump are expected to discuss an array of pending bilateral and regional issues, including trade and security.

The meeting will follow rounds of intensive trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington aimed at bridging differences over how to implement Korea's $350 billion investment pledge under a bilateral framework agreement struck in July.

Lee and Trump held their first summit at the White House in August.

The upcoming summit between Trump and Xi has drawn international attention as the leaders are expected to seek a trade deal following a renewed escalation of tension over Beijing's tightened export controls on rare earth products and Trump's threat to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods.

For his Asia trip, Trump will depart Washington to fly to Malaysia on Friday night. He is set to arrive in the Southeast Asian country on Sunday morning (local time).

There, he plans to have a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders' working dinner.

Trump will fly to Japan on Monday morning for a three-day visit. He plans to have a meeting with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. He will arrive in Korea's southeastern port city of Busan on Wednesday morning to begin his two-day visit to the country.