Copyright scmp
US President Donald Trump landed in South Korea on Wednesday for the final leg of his Asia trip, optimistic about striking a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping after summit talks with South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung. Arriving from Tokyo hours after North Korea test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Trump is due to address a summit of CEOs and meet Lee in Gyeongju, a sleepy South Korean town filled with historic tombs and palaces. The main item on Wednesday’s agenda will be the unresolved trade agreement between the US and South Korea, before an expected meeting with Xi on Thursday, the prospect of which has already buoyed global markets. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, Trump dismissed the North Korea missile test and said he was squarely focused on his meeting with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy. After arriving in the southern city of Busan, Trump strolled down a red carpet, shaking hands with officials as the band struck up a rendition of Village People’s “YMCA”, a favourite of the US president’s often played at his political rallies. He then boarded his helicopter, heading for Gyeongju. Trump made no mention of trade talks with South Korea on Wednesday, with both sides playing down the prospect of a breakthrough in leader talks. The two allies announced a deal in late July under which South Korea would avoid the worst of the tariffs by agreeing to pump US$350 billion of new investments into the United States. But talks over the structure of those investments have been deadlocked. Trump has also pressed allies like South Korea to pay more for defence, and South Korea has sought reforms to US immigration laws to allow for more workers to build factories after a raid on a Hyundai Motor battery plant in Georgia. The leaders will discuss trade, investment and peace on the Korean peninsula at talks on Wednesday, Lee’s office said, a reference to engagement with North Korea. The presidential office said that in recognition of Trump’s role as a “peacemaker” on the Korean peninsula, he will be awarded the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa”, South Korea’s highest decoration. Trump will be gifted a replica of the golden Cheonmachong crown. The delicate original, which was found in a tomb in Gyeongju, features towering gold prongs and dangling leaf shapes. Lee and Trump will also tour a museum in Gyeongju. Trump has made repeated calls for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, including during this trip, but there has been no public comment from Pyongyang. Kim has previously said he could be open to talking if Washington stops pressing him to give up nuclear weapons. Christopher Padilla, senior adviser at advisory firm Brunswick Group in Washington, said Trump, who will skip the Apec leaders’ summit, dislikes large international gatherings and prefers one-on-one meetings with leaders. “But while the US steps back, most of the world has continued to work through such institutions, finding them a useful source of cooperation on international problems,” Padilla said. Instead, Trump will address the Apec CEO summit, have dinner with Lee and hold bilateral meetings with several countries’ leaders, including China’s Xi. Trump is arriving in Gyeongju after a whirlwind swing through the region, among the hardest hit by his tariff policies and increased US-China competition. In Malaysia, he announced a slew of trade agreements and oversaw the signing of an expanded truce between Thailand and Cambodia after a border conflict. In Tokyo on Tuesday, Trump lavished praise on Japan’s first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military build-up and signing deals on trade and rare earths. The US and Japan also released a list of projects in which Japanese companies are eyeing US investments, related to Tokyo’s pledge earlier this year of US$550 billion in strategic US investments, loans and guarantees in exchange for tariff reprieve. Washington has pressed South Korea to make a similar arrangement, but Seoul says it cannot afford to pay the US$350 billion it pledged upfront. Instead, South Korea has offered a mix of phased investments, loans and other measures. On Tuesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said a last-minute concession by the US could lead to a deal.
