GYEONGJU, South Korea — United States President Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip in South Korea on Wednesday, optimistic about advancing an unresolved tariff deal with President Lee Jae Myung and striking a trade war truce with China’s Xi Jinping.
Arriving from Tokyo hours after North Korea test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Trump received a lavish reception from Lee in Gyeongju, a historic city hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
His talks with Xi are set for Thursday in the port city of Busan.
SINGLED OUT United States President Donald Trump seemingly points to someone while speaking during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit at the Gyeongju Arts Center in the city of Gyeongju, southeastern South Korea, on Oct. 29, 2025. AFP PHOTO
Speaking earlier to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea, 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.
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“I think we’re going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually,” Trump said.
He expects to reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to curb exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, he added.
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The US could halve the levies of 20 percent on Chinese goods it now charges in retaliation for the export of such chemicals, the Wall Street Journal said.
China’s foreign ministry said the meeting of the two leaders would “inject new momentum into the development of US-China relations,” and Beijing was ready to work together for “positive outcomes.”
South Korea trade talks struggle
Speaking at a summit of APEC CEOs in Gyeongju before his meeting with Lee, Trump said a trade deal with South Korea would be finalized “very soon,” though officials on both sides have been downplaying the prospect of a breakthrough this week.
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The allies unveiled a deal in late July under which Seoul would avoid the worst of the tariffs by agreeing to pump $350 billion of new investments into the US. But talks over the structure of those investments have been deadlocked.
At the start of a working lunch topped off with a “golden dessert,” Lee pledged to spend more on defense, as he sought to head off a Trump concern that allies are not pulling their weight militarily.
He also asked that the US allow the country to reprocess nuclear fuel to power submarines. Seoul is barred from doing so without US consent, under a pact between the countries.
Trump pledged to help “straighten out” South Korea’s problems with its nuclear-armed northern neighbor. The two are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
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Trump, who has repeatedly called for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on this trip, said on Wednesday the timings would not work out.
Taiwan on the agenda?
Skipping the main APEC summit, Trump plans a dinner with Lee and bilateral meetings with several countries’ leaders, including China’s Xi, before he departs on Thursday.
Negotiators from the world’s top two economies hashed out a framework on Sunday for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls, US officials said. The news sent stocks to record peaks.
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Beijing has been more circumspect about the prospect of an agreement, but in a possible sign of thawing, China bought its first cargoes of US soybeans in several months, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The lack of Chinese buying has cost US farmers — a key support base for Trump — billions of dollars in lost sales.
Trump said he did not know whether Taiwan would be discussed with Xi.
Since taking office in January, Trump has vacillated on his position toward the democratically governed island claimed by China as he seeks to strike a trade deal with Beijing.
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Trump says Xi has told him he will not invade Taiwan while the Republican president is in office, but Trump has yet to approve any new US arms sales to Taipei.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Tuesday he was not worried that Trump would “abandon” the island in his meeting with Xi.
