According to Cheong Wa Dae here, the roughly 30-minute meeting took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly after progress was made earlier in the week in negotiations over South Korea's planned U.S. investments under a broader trade deal reached late last year.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and national security adviser Wi Sung-lac also attended the meeting, along with key U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Their talks came after South Korea reportedly selected a large-scale gas-fired power plant in Texas as the first major project under Seoul's US$350 billion investment package for the U.S., although the two leaders did not discuss specific details.
They welcomed the progress and agreed to speed up follow-up consultations on a range of pending bilateral issues including Seoul's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines, rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, and the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul.
Trump also reaffirmed his willingness to engage in dialogue with North Korea, while the two leaders agreed to maintain close communication to help revive talks between Washington and Pyongyang and promote lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
However, there was no specific mention of sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz, possibly due to time constraints as the leaders had several other issues to discuss including the upcoming summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C. later this week.
The two leaders broke the ice with small talk about golf and wrapped up their brief meeting by returning to the same subject, maintaining a relatively relaxed atmosphere.
As he stood up to leave, Lee mentioned the possibility of attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami, Florida in December and told Trump, "It would be nice to play golf there."
AJP Takeaways
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump held an impromptu 30-minute meeting in New York on Sept. 22, 2026 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
- The two leaders agreed to speed up follow-up consultations on bilateral issues, including nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing, shipbuilding cooperation, and the transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul.
- Donald Trump reaffirmed his willingness to engage in dialogue with North Korea, while the leaders agreed to maintain close communication to help revive U.S.-North Korea talks and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
