U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Korea on the 29th, Korea time, for talks with President Lee Jae-myung, the White House said on the 23rd local time.
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced Trump's Asia tour schedule at a briefing that day.
President Lee and President Trump will hold their second meeting after their first summit in Washington, D.C., in August.
Spokesperson Leavitt said, "On Wednesday (the 29th) morning, President Trump will travel to Busan, hold a bilateral meeting with the president of the Republic of Korea, deliver a keynote address at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO luncheon, and attend the leaders' working dinner that evening."
Spokesperson Leavitt indicated that a South Korea-U.S. summit would be held in Busan, but multiple well-informed Korean government sources said the summit itself will take place in Gyeongju, the host city of the APEC summit.
Spokesperson Leavitt also said, "On Thursday (the 30th) morning local time in Korea, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and depart that night to return to Washington, D.C."
Attention is on whether the South Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, now in the final stretch, will be concluded on the occasion of the summit in Gyeongju.
The two countries are said to be at odds over the cash investment ratio and funding period in structuring a $350 billion (about 500 trillion won) investment package in the United States.
As concerns mount over U.S.-China trade tensions, attention is also on whether President Trump and President Xi can find common ground on issues such as rare earths, tariff, and soybeans.
If Spokesperson Leavitt's explanation is correct, President Trump will stay in Korea for 1 night and 2 days. Accordingly, President Trump is expected to skip the APEC summit plenary sessions to be held in Gyeongju on the 31st and the following day.