Trump arrives in South Korea for high-stakes summits with Lee, Xi

US President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea Wednesday ahead of high-stakes summits with President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.

Trump, who is on his first Asia trip of his second term, comes to the US ally nation focused on securing deals in trade and investment following months of market turmoil and tensions over his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods.

After departing Tokyo aboard Air Force One earlier in the day, Trump landed at Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern city of Busan.

Trump will meet Lee in Gyeongju later Wednesday for their second summit in about two months. Whether the two sides will be able to finalize a framework trade deal reached in July remains a key point of interest as Seoul and Washington have put out differing assessments of where their negotiations stand.

The framework deal called for South Korea to invest US$350 billion in the US in exchange for Washington’s lowering of “reciprocal” tariffs from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, but the agreement has yet to take effect due to gaps over details of the investment package.

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