After agreeing on a trade deal framework with South Korea, the White House's focus is now expected to shift to reorienting defense ties with Seoul as the two countries’ leaders prepare to meet in Washington this month for a summit that could reset their military alliance.
Defense and security will be the primary focus of the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung, observers say, as Washington looks to Seoul to play a bigger role in its the United States’ China strategy.
“The consensus across the Korean political spectrum is that tariff and economic issues were merely the ‘appetizer,’ while defense represents the main course,” said Seong-hyon Lee, a senior fellow at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations.
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