Trump Plans South Korea APEC Visit Eyes Talks With Xi and Kim

Photo:AP

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is getting ready for an important trip to South Korea later in October this year. He is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which will be held in the historic city of Gyeongju. The summit is scheduled to take place between late October and early November, bringing together leaders and trade ministers from across the Asia-Pacific region.

This visit is being looked at as a major opportunity for Trump to meet face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to senior officials, serious talks are going on behind the scenes to arrange a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit. However, no final decision has been made yet.

Just last month, President Xi had personally invited Trump and his wife to visit China. Trump also extended a return invitation to Xi to come to the United States, though neither side has fixed any dates for those visits. The APEC summit in South Korea might become the first stage for such an important dialogue.

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Officials involved in the planning say Trump’s trip is not only about attending the summit but also about strengthening economic ties. The White House team is discussing how the visit could bring new investments into the U.S. economy. A senior official explained that discussions would likely cover a wide range of issues, including trade cooperation, defence partnerships, and civil nuclear energy projects.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung recently hosted Trump in Seoul, where he personally invited him to attend the APEC gathering. During their talks, President Lee also suggested that the summit could serve as a stage for Trump to reconnect with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump, while speaking to reporters after his meeting with the South Korean president, expressed openness to the idea. He said he was ready to meet Kim if the North Korean leader agreed. “I will do that, and we’ll have talks. He’d like to meet with me. We look forward to meeting with him, and we’ll make relations better,” Trump stated.

The possibility of Trump meeting Kim Jong Un is still uncertain because it is not clear whether the North Korean leader will attend the APEC event. Even so, officials say that Trump’s advisors are giving more attention to the potential meeting with Xi Jinping, considering the tense economic and security challenges between the United States and China.

The trip comes at a sensitive time. Relations between Washington and Beijing remain strained over trade disagreements, technology restrictions, and military competition in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs, adding more weight to the possibility of fresh talks between Trump and Kim.

Trump’s visit to South Korea, therefore, could become a turning point in shaping the diplomatic environment in East Asia. It may also provide the stage for new agreements, both on trade and on peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

While the final schedule has not been made public, there is also speculation that Trump could add other stops in Asia during his October trip. This would allow him to strengthen ties with more regional partners.

For now, the world is watching closely. If Trump sits down with Xi Jinping, the meeting could send strong signals about the future of U.S.-China cooperation or conflict. If Kim Jong Un also agrees to meet, it would mark the first direct engagement between the two since earlier diplomatic talks stalled.

Either way, Trump’s upcoming journey to South Korea for the APEC Summit is expected to be one of the most closely followed international events of the year.