US President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on the last stop of his trip to Asia on the morning of October 29, the US media directly called it "Kinglike Treatment". According to the Korean media, it is Trump's six-year visit to South Korea again. Since South Korea's President Li has just visited the United States at the end of August, the Korean side said the inter-visit set the record for the shortest interval between the visit of South American leaders. The Korean dollar summit talks lasted 90 minutes, after this summit, which was originally considered as a "symbolic exchange", the two countries suddenly announced a trade agreement, the South Korean public opinion believes the results of this "one-stop" are quite unexpected.
US-ROK summit "unexpected" results
South Korean media such as Yonhap News Agency, Korea Economy, and Korea National Daily reported on the 29th that after the talks between the leaders of South Korea and the United States, the two heads of state did not hold a joint press conference, but Trump declared at the dinner that "a trade agreement was almost finalized." The tariff agreement, which was originally regarded as difficult to reach at this round of talks, eventually yielded unexpected results.
According to details released by the South Korean Presidential Office, the South Korean side has confirmed a $350 billion total investment scheme for the United States, of which $200 billion is in cash investment, and a maximum annual investment limit of $20 billion is set; the remaining $150 billion will be used for the shipbuilding cooperation project "MASGA (Make the US Shipbuilding Industry Great Again). In addition, the agreement clarifies the principle of "commercial rationality of investment". In the tariff section, the two sides decided to lower car tariffs from 25% to 15%, equal to the tax rate talked about by the United States; medicines, wood and other categories will enjoy the most favourable country treatment, and air materials, simulated drugs and natural resources not produced by the United States will apply to zero tariffs; semiconductor tariffs
The South Korean automotive industry welcomed the results of the summit, and the semiconductor industry was cautiously optimistic.H, the South Korean media, citing national experts, noted that the negotiations meant that South Korea fundamentally accepted the "disbalanced competition structure".Despite the appearance of large concessions by the United States, $200 billion in cash investment was equivalent to about 43 percent of the South Korean defense budget.If the government invested $20 billion annually in fiscal spending, it would be difficult for the public to accept.
South Korean and U.S. leaders also reached a new consensus on defence and security on the 29th.According to South Korean presidential office news, Li said in the meeting that South Korea plans to significantly strengthen defence forces by raising the defence budget and developing the defence industry, reducing the defence burden on the United States.
During the talks, Lee Jae-myung also proposed that in order to cope with changes in the regional security environment, it is necessary for South Korea to promote the nuclear-powered submarine project to enhance maritime deterrence and strategic mobility. Trump understood this and agreed to start a follow-up consultation mechanism on related issues. According to Wei Shengluo, director of the National Security Office of South Korea, the two sides will use the National Security Conference as a platform to carry out strategic cooperation in the fields of nuclear submarine propulsion system, shipbuilding industry and defense equipment.
Lu Chao, dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times on the 29th that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is currently in a relatively tense state, and the United States and South Korea are discussing to advance the nuclear-powered submarine project, which is conducive to easing tensions on the peninsula.
Lee was wearing a golden tie.
South Korea is the last stop of Trump's trip to Asia, and his extremely high courtesy caused widespread concern on the same day. The South Korean side held a welcoming ceremony at the airport with the courtesy of state guests, fired a 21-gun salute, and played YMCA, a common song for Trump's campaign rally, when he got off the plane. The atmosphere was warm.
Lee wore a special-made golden tie tomorrow to welcome Trump at the National Chongqing State Museum. According to the introduction of the South Korean Presidential Office, the tie embodies both respect for Trump’s personal preferences and signifies “the golden future of the Korean-American alliance”. At the subsequent official welcome ceremony, Lee in Ming awarded Trump the highest honor of South Korea – the Infinite Flower Medal, making the latter the first honored American president, while sending him a prototype of the golden crown from Chongqing, symbolizing the Korean-American innovation era of “peace and communion”.
The Washington Post noted that the golden crown originated from the Neolithic kingdom that ruled most of the peninsula, symbolizing "the era of peace and unity." The American Time magazine on 29 mentioned that the White House imitated the cover of the magazine earlier this year, and on social media sent a map of the Trump headed crown with the words "Long live the king"; The New York Times directly said "Trump will compare himself to the king, South Korea gave him a crown."
It is worth noting that although the summit was held under strict security, some South Korean opponents suddenly launched protests near the scene.The South Korean police said about 50 demonstrators suddenly deviated from the declaration route after a rally in the East Palace and Moon Pool, trying to rush to the National Museum of Changzhou, where the first Korean dollar talks were held.
Sudden meeting proposal
Although Trump has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet with the top leader of North Korea, he failed to do what he wanted during the trip to Asia. According to AFP, Trump said on the 29th: "I know Kim Jong-un very well ... we really couldn't agree on a good time."According to Bloomberg's report on the 28th, on the plane to South Korea, Trump has reduced the possibility of the two people meeting, but said "in the near future, we will meet with North Korea (leaders)."
According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 29th, the North Korean Missile General Administration conducted a sea-to-ground strategic cruise missile test in the West Sea of North Korea the day before. Park Zhengtian, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and secretary of the Party Central Committee, said that in accordance with the strategic intention of the Party Central Committee to continuously expand the role space of war containment means, important achievements have been made in promoting the practical application of the country's nuclear armed forces.
According to experts, the time for the North Korean test "is not coincidental", but while rejecting Trump's sudden meeting proposal, there is also room for future dialogue.
[Global Times special correspondent in South Korea Li Zhiyin Global Times special correspondent Wu Ming Global Times reporter Fan Feng]