South Korean President Lee Jae Myung To Hold First Summit With Donald Trump In Washington

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung will hold a meeting with United States president Donald Trump in Washington later this month for talks on trade and defence cooperation, Lee's office said on Tuesday, AP reported. The meet is being held in light of South Korea’s nuclear-armed neighbours along with other threats. 

The summit is set for August 25 that will follow a July trade deal in which Washington agreed to cut its reciprocal tariff on South Korea to 15 percent from the initially proposed 25 percent. The reduced rate will also be applied to South Korean cars which are its major export to the US.

South Korea has also agreed to purchase $100 billion in U.S. energy and invest $350 billion in the country. Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said that the meet could serve as a base to discuss expanding cooperation in key industries such as semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding, AP reported. 

Both leaders will focus on developing a “future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance” in light of the North Korean threats, along with the changing international security and economic conditions. 

The meeting has also raised concerns over the presence of American troops on South Korean soil. Trump has been demanding the nation to pay more for troops since his first term. 

The partnership is even more significant given North Korea testing its 5000-ton destroyer while also deepening its alliance with Russia. North Korea had also conducted tests of the latest short-range ballistic missiles simulating nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea, as reported by state media Korean Central News Agency (KNCA). 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also offered Moscow his "unconditional support" on all actions taken to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, according to Pyongyang state media reports.