GYEONGJU, South Korea – US President Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip in South Korea on Oct 29, optimistic about striking a trade war truce with Chinese President Xi Jinping and advancing an unresolved tariff deal with South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung.

Arriving from Tokyo hours after

, Mr Trump received a lavish reception from Mr Lee in Gyeongju, a historic city hosting 2025’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.

His talks with Mr Xi are set for Oct 30 in port city Busan.

Speaking earlier to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, Mr Trump dismissed the North Korea missile test and said he is squarely focused on his meeting with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.

“I think we’re going to have a very good outcome for our country and for the world, actually,” he said.

He expects to reduce US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing’s commitment to curb exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, he added.

The US could halve the 20 per cent levies on Chinese goods it currently charges in retaliation for the export of such chemicals, the Wall Street Journal reported.

China’s foreign ministry said the meeting of the two leaders would “inject new momentum into the development of US-China relations”, and Beijing was ready to work together for “positive outcomes”.

Speaking at a summit of Apec chief executive officers (CEOs) in Gyeongju before his meeting with Mr Lee, Mr Trump said a trade deal with South Korea would be finalised “very soon”, though officials on both sides have been downplaying the prospect of a breakthrough this week.

The two allies announced a deal in late July under which South Korea would avoid the worst of the tariffs by agreeing to pump US$350 billion (S$453 billion) of investments into the United States.

But talks over the structure of those investments

.

Meeting Mr Lee at the nearby Gyeongju National Museum, Mr Trump was presented with a gold crown and the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa”, the country’s highest decoration worn as an elaborate sash and medal.

“I’d like to wear it right now,” Mr Trump quipped.

At the start of a working lunch topped off with a “golden dessert”, Mr Lee pledged to spend more on defence, as he sought to head off a Trump concern that allies are not pulling their weight militarily.

He asked the US to allow the country to

to power submarines. Seoul is barred from doing so without US consent, under a pact between the countries.

Mr Trump pledged to help “straighten out” South Korea’s problems with its nuclear-armed northern neighbour. The two are still technically at war after their 1950-53 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Mr Trump, who has repeatedly called for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on this trip, said on Oct 29 the timings would not work out.

Taiwan on agenda?

Skipping the main Apec summit, Mr Trump plans a dinner with Mr Lee and bilateral meetings with several countries’ leaders, including Mr Xi, before he departs on Oct 30.

Negotiators from the world’s top two economies hashed out a framework on Oct 26 for a deal to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare earths’ export controls, US officials said.

The news sent stocks soaring to record peaks.

Beijing has been more circumspect about the prospect of an agreement, but in a possible sign of thawing, China bought its first cargoes of US soybeans in several months, Reuters reported on Oct 29.

The lack of Chinese buying has cost US farmers, a key support base for Mr Trump, billions of dollars in lost sales.

Mr Trump said he would speak to Mr Xi about Nvidia’s state-of-the-art Blackwell AI chips, with sales to China a key sticking point in trade talks.

Mr Trump said he did not know whether Taiwan would be discussed with Mr Xi.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has vacillated on his position towards China-claimed Taiwan as he seeks to strike a trade deal with Beijing.

Mr Trump said Mr Xi has told him he will not invade Taiwan while the Republican President is in office, and the latter has yet to approve any new US arms sales to Taipei.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Oct 28 he was not worried that

in his meeting this week with Mr Xi.

China said on Oct 29 it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan.

Mr Trump told reporters on Oct 29 that he did not know whether he would even discuss Taiwan with Mr Xi.

Final stop in Asia trip

Mr Trump’s trip to South Korea concludes a whirlwind swing through the region, among the hardest hit by his tariff policies and increased US-China competition.

In Malaysia, he announced a slew of trade agreements and oversaw a signing of an expanded truce between Thailand and Cambodia after a border conflict.

In Tokyo on Oct 28, Mr Trump

welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military build-up and signing deals on trade and rare earths.

The US and Japan released a list of projects in which Japanese companies are eyeing US investments, related to Tokyo’s pledge earlier in 2025 of US$550 billion in strategic US investments, loans and guarantees in exchange for tariff reprieve.

Washington has pressed South Korea to make a similar arrangement, but Seoul says it cannot afford to pay the US$350 billion it pledged upfront.