On the 25th(local time), U.S. media evaluated the summit between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House as having "avoided tension contrary to expectations."
Bloomberg reported that "the two leaders showed an optimistic attitude for close cooperation in areas such as North Korea, national security, and the shipbuilding industry" and noted that "President Trump congratulated President Lee on his election and said, 'We are with you 100%.' This was in contrast to raising doubts about Korea's political stability earlier that morning."
Earlier, President Trump had mentioned on his social media platform Truth Social just before the Korea-U.S. summit, "What is happening in Korea? It seems like a Purge or Revolution is taking place," adding, "In such a situation, it is impossible to conduct business in Korea."
Bloomberg also reported that President Trump made President Lee wait while he explained his social media post at the signing ceremony for an executive order before the summit, but once the meeting began in the Oval Office, the atmosphere relaxed with light conversation. It was evaluated that "President Lee's efforts to win President Trump's favor paid off."
The Washington Post (WP) also gave a positive assessment of the summit atmosphere. WP noted that on that morning, prior to the meeting, President Lee had predicted that President Trump's social media post could put him in a similar situation as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did last February, suggesting that he could end up in a predicament.
At that time, President Zelensky had to leave the White House after an argument with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, with the signing ceremony for a mineral agreement and a joint press conference being canceled.
WP reported that President Lee praised President Trump by mentioning the remodeling of the Oval Office, efforts for world peace, and the record highs of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and while requesting dialogue with North Korea, he joked, "Please allow North Korea to build a Trump World as well," creating a warm atmosphere.
It then analyzed, "Trump and Korea's new president have shared several common experiences, including surviving assassination threats," and noted that "this summit served as an opportunity for the two leaders to establish a close relationship during their first meeting."
After the summit, President Trump praised President Lee during a proclamation signing ceremony, calling him "a very good guy and a very good representative of Korea."
The meeting lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes, about 20 minutes longer than expected, and it is reported that President Trump did not personally see President Lee off.