Donald Trump met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House with North Korea at the center of discussions. Trump expressed a desire to meet Kim Jong Un "this year" and claimed strong personal relationships with Kim and North Korea. Lee expressed interest in expanding cooperation on shipbuilding and other manufacturing sectors while Trump promised serious trade discussions. Trump pressed South Korea to pay more to host roughly 28,500 American troops and proposed eliminating base leases by obtaining US ownership of the land where American military bases sit. Public interactions appeared cordial despite earlier social media criticism.
"I have very good relationships with Kim Jong Un and North Korea," Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Lee. He even suggested that he had a better relationship with Kim than almost anyone but Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong. "A lot of people would say, 'That's terrible.' No it's good," Trump added, recalling meeting with North Korea's leader during his first term.
"We spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea, but I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base," Trump said.
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