(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump criticized South Korea on Monday, hours before he was set to welcome South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the White House for talks on trade and defense.
In the Oval Office, Trump congratulated Lee on his victory, while Lee praised Trump for his efforts to bring an end to wars.
Lee said he hopes Trump will help bring peace to the Korean penninsula and looks forward to Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, suggesting a future where there was a Trump tower and golf course in the country.
The president also floated the idea of the U.S. owning the land in South Korea where a U.S. base is located, rather than continuing to lease it.
Trump described his relationship with North Korea’s supreme leader as friendly, a departure from American leaders’ criticisms of the closed, authoritarian nation.
“We had a very good relationship. We still do,” Trump said. “We think we can do something in regard to North and South Korea.”
The president talked up his friendship with Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling both “a good thing,” though both countries have long been adversaries of the U.S.
He also said that if he had not been elected in 2016, there would have been nuclear war between North and South Korea.
The meeting marked the first in-person meeting for Trump and Lee, and a major agenda item is likely to be working through the details of a trade deal agreed upon earlier this summer.
Trump threatened a 25% tariff on South Korea, a country that has a trade surplus with the United States. When it comes to tariffs, Trump has proposed especially heavy duties on such countries.
The deal reached in July set tariffs on South Korean imports at 15% in exchange for investment in the U.S. economy, particularly in the areas of semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding.
Defense will likely also be discussed, as Trump has pressed for more flexibility with security agreements and repeatedly suggested allies should pay more for U.S. troops.
Lee is expected to push back on the idea of a more flexible arrangement since U.S. troops in South Korea serve as a deterrent to North Korean aggression.
But the arrangement also serves U.S. interests, placing troops in the Indo-Pacific region and in close proximity to China, increasing readiness should a conflict break out in the region.
On social media Monday morning, Trump criticized the country now under Lee’s leadership.
“WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!” the president posted.
It’s not entirely clear to what exactly Trump was referring, but it appeared to be a reference to the investigation into former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who attempted to institute martial law in the country in December.
The statement came after Trump deployed National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital. He has said he plans to deploy troops to other Democratic cities as well, starting with Chicago, over the objections of local leaders.
The president again touted what he has called his success in D.C., claiming the city had been seeing rising crime for years. Statistics show crime in the capital has been decreasing for decades, but Trump has continued to repeat his statements about rising crime rates.
Later, Trump clarified that he had heard of raids on churches but didn’t know if they were true. The controversial Unification Church has been under investigation for a political influence scandal which includes alleged ties to Yoon.
It’s not clear what the remarks could mean for the previously agreed-upon trade deal or the president’s relationship with Lee, who succeeded the conservative Yoon.
