WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung discuss to reporters earlier than an Oval Workplace assembly on the White Home on August 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Throughout Lee’s first official go to to the White Home, the 2 leaders are set to debate commerce and navy cooperation to counter North Korea and China, South Korea’s high commerce accomplice. (Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photos)
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Photos Information | Getty Photos
The U.S. and South Korea introduced a collection of agreements Monday in Washington, together with multibillion-dollar investments, report $50 billion aviation purchases by Korean Air, and new power cooperation, as leaders from each international locations met within the Oval Workplace.
This features a $150 billion funding pledge from South Korean firms, an order of 103 airplanes from Boeing, in addition to a purchase order of South Korean ships and a shipbuilding partnership.
“We actually form of want one another. We love what they do. We love their merchandise. We love their ships. We love loads of the issues that they make, they usually love what now we have,” U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned throughout his press convention with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The bulletins adopted a July commerce deal that lowered U.S. tariffs on South Korean exports — together with autos — to fifteen% from 25%.
As a part of the deal, Seoul dedicated $350 billion in investments within the U.S., with $150 billion earmarked for shipbuilding cooperation.
It was not instantly clear if Monday’s pledge overlapped with that earlier determine, though Reuters reported that the $150 billion pledge was separate from the $350 billion that the July deal encompassed.
Lee mentioned in his remarks that “I imagine that there’s a renaissance going down not solely within the shipbuilding sector but additionally within the manufacturing trade, and I hope that Korea might be part of that renaissance.”
Individually, Korean Air introduced an virtually $50 billion deal to purchase plane and engines from U.S. producers.
The deal by South Korea’s flag provider consists of a $36.2 billion buy of 103 plane from U.S. plane producer Boeing, in addition to plane engines and upkeep providers from GE Aerospace price $13.7 billion.
South Korean media outlet Yonhap mentioned this was the most important deal within the airline’s historical past.
Trump additionally mentioned that the U.S. will accomplice with South Korea and Japan to develop Alaska’s pure gasoline reserves, though he didn’t disclose any particulars of the plan. Seoul had dedicated to buy $100 billion of U.S. power beneath its July deal.
Again in April, the international ministers of the U.S., South Korea and Japan met in Brussels and “dedicated to proceed strengthening power safety and power cooperation, underpinned by America’s LNG and different power sources and applied sciences, in a mutually useful method.”
Additionally they reaffirmed their dedication to regional safety, together with countering North Korea’s nuclear program.
On Monday, Trump had expressed a need to fulfill North Korean chief Kim Jong Un this yr, saying, “I get together with him rather well. I feel he has a rustic of nice potential, large potential.”
Pyongyang didn’t instantly reply to Trump’s remarks, though its state media KCNA put out a press release Monday denouncing an ongoing annual navy drill between the U.S. and South Korea, labeling Washington the “arch prison threatening humankind with nukes and the primary wrongdoer disturbing peace.”
Trump and Kim had met for 2 summits in the course of the U.S. President’s first time period in workplace, however failed to return to any settlement on the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.
