South Korean Prez Lee set to wrap up visit to Japan, depart for high-stakes summit with Trump

Tokyo, Aug 24 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set to wrap up his two-day visit to Japan on Sunday and travel to Washington for a high-stakes summit with US President Donald Trump.

In Tokyo, Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held summit talks on Saturday during which they agreed to deepen cooperation to address shifting global trade and security dynamics and to strengthen trilateral ties with the United States.

Lee said his decision to make Japan the first diplomatic destination for a bilateral summit since taking office underscored his focus on ties with a "neighbor sharing the front yard" and an "indispensable partner."

Lee plans to meet with Japanese lawmakers before departing and will arrive in Washington later in the day.

In Washington, Lee is scheduled to hold his first in-person meeting with Trump at the White House, with discussions expected to center on trade and security issues following a tariff deal struck between Seoul and Washington in late July.

Lee is expected to face a pivotal foreign policy test as the Trump administration pushes to "modernize" the alliance with South Korea, a process that could involve higher South Korean defense spending and a realignment of US Forces Korea amid Washington's drive to counter an increasingly assertive China, Yonhap news agency reported.

The two leaders are also expected to hammer out details of the broad trade agreement that lowered the US "reciprocal" tariffs on Korean goods to 15 per cent from 25 per cent in return for Seoul's $350 billion investment pledges and other commitments.

After the White House talks, Lee will attend a business roundtable with top corporate executives from both countries and deliver a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Lee also plans to visit Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, seen as a symbol of bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, before returning to Seoul.

--IANS

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