ASEAN hosts a 2-day, 1-night visit to Japan → 3-day, 2-night visit to Japan → 2-day, 1-night visit to Korea, hosted by APEC
While China is being checked, a surprise meeting with Kim is unlikely, but cannot be ruled out.
(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = U.S. President Donald Trump's first Asian tour since taking office in his second term is designed to engage in talks with China, a rival for global hegemony, and to strengthen solidarity with allies who will support him.
President Trump's Asian tour itinerary, announced by White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt in a briefing on the 23rd (local time), will consist of four nights and five days, with visits to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.
President Trump will depart Washington, D.C. aboard Air Force One on the evening of the 24th (afternoon on the 25th in Asia). He will arrive in Malaysia on the morning of the 26th, hold a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and then attend a working dinner with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders.
After spending the night in Malaysia, President Trump will head to Japan on the 27th. He will then hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi the following day, the 28th. This will be the first US-Japan summit since Prime Minister Takaichi was elected.
Prime Minister Takaichi is considered a hard-line conservative politician and may have good chemistry with President Trump, but it is also a risk factor for the United States, which needs cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan, as its relationship with neighboring countries such as Korea and China may not be smooth.
After a three-day, two-night stay in Japan, President Trump will travel to South Korea on the 29th. While his two-day, one-night stay is shorter than his stay in Japan, his stay in South Korea is considered the highlight of his trip.
President Trump will meet with President Lee Jae-myung on the 29th, the first day of his visit to South Korea. This will be the first summit between the two leaders in approximately two months, following President Lee's visit to the US on August 25th.
The meeting venue was set for Gyeongju, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is scheduled. While President Trump will not attend the APEC summit, he will deliver a keynote address at the APEC CEO Luncheon that day and have a working dinner with the leaders that evening.
The working dinner between the leaders appears to be largely a consideration for President Trump, who will not be attending the main event of the APEC summit, which will be held for two days starting on the 31st.
On the morning of the 30th, the final day of his Asian tour, President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is visiting South Korea to attend APEC. This will be his first meeting with President Xi in six years, since the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan in June 2019.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the meeting between the two leaders would be a"brief meeting," but President Trump said "it's going to be a fairly long meeting."
Looking at the schedule and route of this visit, which ends on the night of the 30th, it seems that President Trump intends to kill two birds with one stone: security and trade.
The meeting with key ASEAN member states in Malaysia could be a step toward checking China's growing military and economic influence in Southeast Asia.
The route from Malaysia to Japan and South Korea, the next countries visited, coincides with the"First Island Chain," the maritime defense line between the US and China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tariffs and investment are expected to be on the agenda for President Trump's meetings with the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and China on the 28th to 30th.
The United States has reached a trade deal with Japan, but some are raising the possibility of renegotiation over the $550 billion investment in the United States, one of the conditions for lowering reciprocal tariffs to 15%.
Negotiations with South Korea are nearing an impending agreement, but differences are known to have emerged over the method of investing $350 billion in the U.S., the payment period for the investment, and foreign exchange market safeguards.
As competition with China intensifies over leadership in advanced and strategic industries, conflict between the two sides is increasing due to China's restrictions on rare earth exports and the US's announcement of an additional 100% tariff.
During this trip, President Trump is expected to meet with the leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan in succession and attempt to reach agreement on these issues. He has already announced that he will discuss the Ukraine war and nuclear disarmament during his meeting with President Xi.
Another point of interest is whether Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. While it wasn't included in President Trump's itinerary announced by the White House that day, the consensus among diplomats is that he could propose a"quick meeting" with Chairman Kim if he so chooses.
In fact, the 2019 Panmunjom meeting was achieved at President Trump's fingertips (or tweets). President Trump repeatedly expressed his desire to meet with Chairman Kim, and Chairman Kim did not close the possibility.
Considering the differences in stance on North Korea's denuclearization and President Trump's schedule, the general expectation is that a surprise meeting with Chairman Kim during this visit is unlikely, but it cannot be completely ruled out.
In an interview with CNN aired the previous day, the president said that while it was"not very likely" that North Korea and the United States would meet this time, he"would fully welcome and actively support a surprise meeting between the two countries."
