South Korea's Lee Jae Myung Attempts Diplomatic Charm During Meeting with Trump

Hours before South Korean president Lee Jae Myung was due to meet US president Donald Trump, a Truth Social post dropped.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Trump wrote, pointing to a Purge or Revolution. It appears this was a reference to Mr Lee's attempts to move South Korea on from its martial law crisis last December, when its now ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to orchestrate a military takeover.

But Lee turned on the charm and averted a repeat of what happened in the Oval Office to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky or South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

The leaders found common ground on North Korea, with Trump repeatedly mentioning Kim Jong Un, and they managed to avoid public disagreements over thorny trade and defence issues. Here are three main takeaways.

Lee's strategy of flattery worked

Lee's team had been nervous about this meeting, and they had good reason to be: Trump is historically wary of South Korea, despite it being a US ally. In the past, he has accused it of freeloading from the tens of thousands of US troops that are stationed on the peninsula helping to defend against North Korea. He has also criticised Seoul's defence spending and its trade surplus with the US.

Lee, seen as a left-wing politician, has a reputation in Washington that plays to the worst of Trump's fears. In the past, he has been sceptical of South Korea's military alliance with the US, and now says wants to develop stronger ties with China. He has also been painted by some US conservative commentators as being anti-American.

Lee's team had been worried he might be subjected to one of Trump's now famous Oval Office dressing downs.

The Trump post before the meeting gave them a scare. Trump's ominous-sounding message appeared to be referring to the aftermath of South Korea's martial law crisis last December, and the efforts Mr Lee's government and prosecutors are making to investigate the ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife, and former members of his government.

This was the nightmare scenario for South Korean officials – that Mr Lee might be forced to defend himself against right wing conspiracy theories. But when the meeting arrived, Mr Trump raised the issue, only to quickly brush it off as a probable misunderstanding.

Lee's strategy of flattery clearly worked. He first marveled at the Oval Office's bright and beautiful new look, then heaped praises on the personal rapport that the US president has built with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, asking him to help make peace between the North and South.

The only person who can make progress is you Mr President, Mr Lee said. If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker.

Lee even joked about building a Trump Tower in North Korea and playing golf there.

Kim Jong Un looms large

It might look strange to see President Trump sitting next to the South Korean leader, in their first ever meeting, talking about how well he gets on with Kim Jong Un, the South's sworn enemy, and how much he's looking forward to meeting him again.

But this is actually one of the few areas of common ground these two leaders have.

South Korea's relatively new president Lee Jae Myung is taking a new approach to North Korea than that of his predecessor, who was accused of antagonising Kim Jong Un.

Lee initiated the conversation about Kim, praising President Trump for the personal rapport he has built, asking him to act as a peacemaker on the Korean peninsula.

Lee desires to talk to Kim to establish peaceful relations, understanding that Trump has a more favorable chance of making this happen.

Trump, who met Kim three times in his first term, often brings up the dictator. He famously said the pair fell in love while exchanging letters, but they failed to reach a deal to limit North Korea's nuclear programme.

I spent a lot of free time with him, talking about things that we probably aren't supposed to talk about, Trump said. I get along with him really well. I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future.

The question remains whether Kim will want to engage with either Trump or Lee, given North Korea's past dismissal of Lee's overtures and its expectation for talks with Trump to operate under different terms, maintaining its nuclear weapons.

Trade, defence issues largely unaddressed

The main purpose of Lee's visit was to discuss recent trade deals and the role of US troops in South Korea, but both leaders dodged specifics on these contentious issues during their meeting.

Seoul negotiated tariffs on South Korean goods down to 15%, after Trump threatened rates as high as 25%. This came with an agreement of investing $350 billion in the US, $150 billion of which will aid the US shipbuilding sector.

South Korea's shipbuilding industry is crucial, constructing more vessels than any other country except China, especially relevant as US shipbuilding is in decline. Following Lee's meeting, Korean Air announced plans to purchase 103 Boeing planes.

Details and sticking points of the trade deal are being worked out by officials behind the scenes.

Trump stated, I think we have a deal done on trade, emphasizing the economic partnership's significance while neglecting detailed discussions on troop presence or financial commitments.

Trump also skirted questions on withdrawing US troops from Korea, suggesting an idea of allowing the US to own the land of Osan Air Base, which is shared with South Korea.