South Korea's Charm Offensive at Trump Meeting

Tue Oct 21 2025 03:49:20 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a high-stakes meeting, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung manages to charm President Trump and avoid conflict over sensitive issues like North Korea and trade.

Hours before his meeting with President Trump, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung faces anxiety over potential backlash due to previous comments from Trump. However, both leaders manage to find common ground on North Korea while avoiding contentious topics like trade and defense spending. Lee employs flattery to ensure positive relations, emphasizing Trump's rapport with Kim Jong Un and proposing cooperation for peace on the Korean peninsula.

South Korea's charm offensive and other takeaways from Trump meeting

Hours before South Korean president Lee Jae Myung was due to meet US president Donald Trump, a Truth Social post dropped. WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Trump wrote, pointing to a Purge or Revolution. It appears this was a reference to Mr Lee's attempts to move South Korea on from its martial law crisis last December.

But Lee turned on the charm and averted a repeat of what happened in the Oval Office to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky or South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

The leaders found common ground on North Korea, with Trump repeatedly mentioning Kim Jong Un, and they managed to avoid public disagreements over thorny trade and defense issues. Here are three main takeaways.

Lee's strategy of flattery worked

Lee's team had been nervous about this meeting, and they had good reason to be: Trump is historically wary of South Korea, despite it being a US ally.

Lee's strategy of flattery clearly worked. He first marveled at the Oval Office's bright and beautiful new look, then heaped praises on the personal rapport that the US president has built with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, asking him to help make peace between the North and South.

Lee even joked about building a Trump Tower in North Korea.

Kim Jong Un looms large

It might look strange to see President Trump sitting next to the South Korean leader, in their first meeting, talking about how well he gets on with Kim Jong Un...