Trump and Lee agree to resolve tariff issue in their first conversation

South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Friday night, in which they agreed to resolve the tariff talks. This was their first telephone meeting since Lee took office.

During the roughly 20-minute conversation , Trump congratulated Lee on his election victory, while Lee emphasized that the South Korea- U.S. alliance remains the foundation of Seoul's foreign policy , South Korean presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said in a statement.

"Both leaders agreed to work to quickly reach a mutually satisfactory agreement" on the tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States, the presidential office said, adding that "to that end, they agreed to promote a tangible outcome in the working-level talks."

Lee's first conversation with Trump came two days after his inauguration , ending months of political and diplomatic uncertainty following the ouster of Yoon Suk-yeol following his failed imposition of martial law.

Lee assumed the presidency of South Korea at 6:21 a.m. local time (21:21 GMT Tuesday) after his victory was confirmed by the electoral body in a plenary session.

A member of the hitherto opposition Democratic Party (DP), liberal Lee takes office immediately, without the usual transition period , following an early election following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol for his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country late last year.

Lee won South Korea's presidential election with 49.42% of the vote, compared to 41.15% for his main contender, Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People's Power Party (PPP) and Yoon's political heir.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has announced that a new round of trade talks between the United States and China will take place in London next week , after a phone call with his Chinese counterpart , Xi Jinping, which had a "very positive outcome for both countries."

"I am pleased to announce that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with representatives from China to discuss a trade agreement. The meeting is expected to be very successful," he said on his Truth Social profile.

The day before, the White House resident said he had an "excellent" conversation with Xi, which lasted about an hour and a half and focused on trade issues, and announced that their respective teams would meet "shortly." During the call, the Chinese president invited him to the United States, and he did the same.

For its part, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua highlighted that the conversation, the first between Trump and Xi since January, took place at the request of the US president and served as a basis for both heads of state to agree that the teams from both sides will continue to implement what was agreed in Geneva (Switzerland) on tariffs.