Asked if he would reduce US troop numbers there to give the US more flexibility in the region, Trump told reporters, “I don’t want to say that now,” but that maybe South Korea should give the US ownership of the “land where we have the big fort,” a possible reference to Camp Humphreys, a US Army garrison in South Korea.
Before the meeting, Lee told reporters it would be difficult for Seoul to accept US demands to adopt “flexibility” over US military stationed in South Korea, a reference to the issue of using US military for a wider range of operations, including China-related threats.
Lee wants to chart a balanced path of cooperation with the US, while avoiding antagonising South Korea’s top trade partner, Beijing.
As he headed to the US, Lee sent a special delegation to Beijing, which delivered a message calling for normalised ties with China.
Lee also told reporters some officials in Washington were calling for changes to the trade deal. The South Korean president will highlight some of South Korea’s expected US investments when he visits a shipyard in Philadelphia owned by the country’s Hanwha Group on Tuesday.
Trump is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea that will run from Oct 30 to Nov 1.
