Heading to the summit a day early… Planning a strategy ahead of Trump's podium

Fully prepared for the APEC event… Also keeping a close eye on developments in North Korea-US talks and US-China talks.

(Gyeongju = Yonhap News) Special Reporting Team = President Lee Jae-myung traveled to Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the host city of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, on the afternoon of the 28th.

The Blue House announced on this day,"President Lee arrived in Gyeongju this afternoon as the APEC chairman," and "President Lee has no public schedule today."

Starting on the 29th, the president will have a hectic schedule in Gyeongju, including a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, a series of meetings with the leaders of South Korea, Japan, and China, an official schedule for the APEC summit, and meetings with business leaders.

In particular, in the case of the Korea-U.S. summit, as it is expected that major issues such as tariff negotiations between the two countries and the modernization of the Korea-U.S. alliance will be discussed, President Lee is heading to Gyeongju a day before the summit to make thorough preparations.

Among these, in the case of tariff negotiations, attention is focused on whether the differences can be narrowed through top-down discussions between the leaders amid the ongoing deadlock between South Korea and the United States.

However, there is speculation within the Blue House that it will not be easy to reach a final agreement on tariff issues through this meeting.

The president is also expected to receive real-time reports on the preparations for the US-China summit, which is attracting global attention, and the possibility of a surprise meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the US, and prepare for various scenarios.

In addition, as the president is scheduled to participate as a special speaker at the opening ceremony of the 'APEC CEO Summit' scheduled for the morning of the 29th, it is expected that he will be revising the content of his speech until late that day.

It is also expected that the relevant ministries will be encouraged to ensure that the official schedule of the APEC summit, which begins on the 29th, proceeds smoothly.

National Security Office Director Wi Seong-rak said in a pre-briefing,"We will be able to highlight Korea's 'platform role' through the series of summits organized around APEC," adding,"We expect that this will lay the foundation for a new leap forward in summit diplomacy."

(Reporter Lim Hyeong-seop)