President Lee Departs Sunday for ASEAN and APEC Tour; Korea-China and Korea-US Summits in Focus

President Lee Jae-myung will visit the Philippines and China for four days starting Monday to attend the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits.

President Lee, US President Donald Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping will all attend the welcome dinner and the APEC summit. With China hosting this year's APEC meeting, the possibility of a Korea-China summit is gaining weight. President Lee and President Trump already met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

Key issues in Korea-US relations under discussion include the transfer of wartime operational control (handing command of military operations during wartime to the South Korean military), nuclear-powered submarines, and matters related to the Korea-US nuclear cooperation agreement. A gap in temperature over the prospects for North Korea-US talks has also been confirmed. A senior US government official flatly stated in a phone briefing on the 13th, "As of now, we have no plans at all to engage with North Korea." A senior official at the presidential office also said, "It is true that the signs suggest the chances are low on the sidelines of APEC," adding, "There may be a bit more room afterward, but it is not highly likely."