Overview

• President Lee Jae Myung will depart Seoul on Aug. 24 for a three-day U.S. visit, returning on Aug. 26 after a White House summit and working lunch with President Trump on Aug. 25.
• The meeting is designed to reframe the Korea–U.S. alliance as a future-focused strategic partnership that addresses evolving security threats and economic shifts.
• It follows a trade agreement that reduced planned U.S. tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent in exchange for commitments of $350 billion in Korean investments and $100 billion in U.S. energy purchases.
• Lee and Trump are set to coordinate on peace and denuclearization efforts for the Korean Peninsula and to strengthen combined deterrence against North Korea’s advancing nuclear program.
• Discussions will also cover expanded industrial cooperation in semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding, with detailed technical negotiations to be handled by subsequent working-level talks and a potential Japan stop still undecided.