Eyes here to be glued to Lee, Trump meeting in New York
President Lee Jae Myung on Monday departed South Korea for his seven-day overseas trip with his wife Kim Hea Kyung, as he is expected to visit the United States and Mexico.
Lee will deliver Seoul's blueprint for maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula and call for global cooperation on shared issues in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
Lee's national security adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae that Lee will visit New York for the UN event and is to deliver his keynote speech on Tuesday.
In the speech, Lee will propose UN reforms for improved resolution of international issues, while laying out South Korea's contributions to that effort, Wi said. Lee will also pitch South Korea's blueprint for the peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas on the Korean Peninsula.
During his stay in New York, Lee will meet attending leaders including US President Donald Trump, according to Lee's security aide Monday. Lee's meeting with Trump, along with leaders of other countries including Australia, will take place "in various forms" to “boost South Korea’s national interest,” Wi added.
Lee's encounter with Trump comes as Seoul and Washington have yet to announce the first investment project under South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment to the US agreed as part of a broader trade deal between the two countries.
In addition, the matter of South Korea playing a role in the Middle East remains unresolved, with Lee effectively ruling out active military involvement.
Lee last met Trump on the occasion of his visit to the Group of Seven summit in France in June.
The South Korean president will also meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula.
On Wednesday, his final day in the city, Lee will attend an investment summit bringing together investment professionals from South Korea and the United States. There, Lee will pitch South Korea's vision for artificial intelligence-related policies and financial market reform to attract foreign investors in South Korea’s capital market.
Lee then heads to Mexico for a state visit and to hold a summit with his counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Lee will be the first South Korean leader to visit Mexico on a state visit in 16 years, dating to former conservative President Lee Myung-bak. The incumbent president was invited to visit Mexico in a phone call with Sheinbaum in May.
The Korea-Mexico summit is set for Thursday, when Lee will also attend a luncheon hosted by the Mexican president and a joint press conference of the two leaders.
Mexico is South Korea's largest trade partner in Latin America, and the top importer of Korean beauty products, foods and pop music, Wi said. The two countries have been strategic partners since 2005.
According to Wi, Lee and Sheinbaum are to discuss ways to broaden bilateral trade and investment, to support some 560 South Korean firms' business activities in Mexico, as well as to forge ties in the field of AI, digital transformation, aerospace and national defense.
On Friday, Lee will visit a bilateral business forum and a K-Expo Mexico venue in Mexico City. Wi said Lee's visit will set the stage for discussions about how to enhance infrastructure to give Mexican residents better access to South Korean cultural content. South Korea's room for media production and training cooperation with Mexico in the content industry will also be discussed.
Lee is to leave Mexico on Saturday morning and return to Seoul on Sunday.
This week's trip will resume Lee's diplomatic activity overseas, after he last traveled to San Francisco, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, returning in early August.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
