South Korea’s president downplays US trade rift and welcomes Trump as ‘peacemaker’

By Will Ripley, Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae, Jessie Yeung, CNN

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung hailed his nation’s relationship with the United States in a CNN interview on Wednesday, pushing aside lingering trade concerns and welcoming US President Donald Trump, who is about to visit Asia, as a “peacemaker.”

Lee acknowledged tensions in the Korean Peninsula had “gotten worse” in recent years, speaking several hours after North Korea test fired ballistic missiles in its first such military show of force since he took office in June.

But he played down the risk, reiterating the need to pursue peace and dialogue – and raised the possibility of Trump bridging the gap between the two Koreas.

“I hope that (Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) will be able to engage in dialogue,” he said. “I also believe that President Trump wants to achieve world peace, and that is why I have made the recommendation for him to take on the role of a peacemaker.”

While the chances that Trump will meet Kim during his multi-stop visit to Asia later this month remain low, Lee said it would be “a good thing” if the “leaders of the United States and North Korea could suddenly get together.”

Trump met Kim several times during his first term, holding landmark summits that ultimately failed to produce a meaningful breakthrough. But earlier this summer in a White House meeting with Lee, the US president said he was willing to meet Kim again.

Trump is also expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week when South Korea hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, attended by leaders and delegations from across the region.

Trump said as recently as Friday that he intends to meet Xi on the sidelines of the key summit, though it’s not clear where or when this will happen. Tensions remain high between the two rival powers, after another trade spat and slew of tariff threats.

South Korea has always walked a fine line in navigating its relationships with the US and China. Seoul and Washington have been staunch allies for more than seven decades – drawing closer in recent years in a joint effort to combat growing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region. South Korea is also home to the US military’s largest overseas base, which houses 41,000 people including troops and their families.

But South Korea and China have also maintained a strong trading relationship.

“We have different ideologies and also a different system of government … (but) we cannot shut out China,” Lee said, adding that the “vital” US alliance made managing the China relationship “a bit delicate.”

“When it comes to relationships between countries, you cannot cut it clean with a knife and say: ‘This country is our friend, and this country is not.’ It’s just not that simple – it’s much more complicated and complex,” said Lee.

China’s ambitions and growing capabilities in high-tech industries present a challenge to South Korea, long seen as a global leader in such critical sectors.

While admitting that Chinese companies were catching up with (and in some cases overtaking) South Korean ones, Lee said there remained “many areas where Korean firms can win,” such as semiconductors and automobiles.

South Korea is committed to sharing this expertise with the US too, Lee said, emphasizing their bilateral relationship included economic, technological, and military cooperation.

“In the past we have received a lot of assistance from the United States, and so we are willing to provide assistance for the US’ efforts to revamp its manufacturing industry to the extent possible,” he said.

His tone was notably warm, despite the US-South Korea relationship being strained in recent months by Trump’s immigration crackdown. Nearly 500 people, mostly Korean nationals, were arrested and detained during an ICE raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia last month, sparking outrage back home. The car maker is one of South Korea’s largest companies.

After the detainees were flown back to South Korea, Trump posted online that he didn’t want to “frighten off or disincentivize investment into America by outside countries or companies.”

South Korea has also had to contend with Trump’s tariff demands, which came as the country was dealing with the fallout from Lee’s predecessor briefly declaring martial law, then cycling through a revolving door of interim leaders as the economy spluttered.

In late July, barely a month into his tenure, Lee negotiated a trade deal with the Trump administration to avert high tariffs on Korean exports, including a $350 billion investment flow from South Korea to the US. But detailed negotiations have dragged out, leaving the country’s key auto making industry at a disadvantage – subject to 25% US tariffs while its rivals in Japan and Europe have already secured much lower rates.

Lee acknowledged there are “differences in opinion” between South Korea and the US in the ongoing talks, but said he believed “that eventually we will get there because the United States is the leading country when it comes to the values of democracy and the free market system.”

Some critics have slammed Trump’s tariff demands as extortionate – especially for longtime allies and friends like South Korea. When asked what he thought of this, Lee simply laughed.

“I believe that we will, in the end, be able to reach a rational result that can be acceptable,” he said, smiling.

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