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Trump departs Japan for two-day visit to Korea

Published: 29 Oct. 2025, 10:30

U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Air Force One at Haneda Airport in Tokyo for his departure to Korea on Oct. 29. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump departed Tokyo on Wednesday for a two-day state visit to Korea. He will arrive in Busan before traveling to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, to begin his official schedule.

Trump arrived at Haneda Airport in the Japanese capital by presidential helicopter at around 9:37 a.m. and boarded Air Force One at 9:50 a.m. for his flight to Korea. He is expected to land in Busan at about 10:40 a.m.

The visit coincides with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. During his stay, Trump will hold bilateral talks with President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday and with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Ahead of Trump’s arrival, Lee inspected preparations for the APEC meetings and traveled to Gyeongju on Tuesday. The two leaders will meet at the Gyeongju National Museum on Wednesday afternoon for their second Korea-U.S. summit since August. Key agenda items include tariff negotiations and the modernization of the bilateral alliance.

Lee has prepared a specially crafted model of a golden crown as a gift for Trump and plans to award him Korea’s highest order of merit, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa.

Before the formal summit and luncheon, the leaders are expected to tour exhibits at the Gyeongju National Museum and share time together.

The following day, Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet to discuss key trade issues. The summit agenda is expected to include China’s rare earth export controls, Beijing’s imports of U.S. soybeans and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

Ahead of the meeting, senior officials from both sides reportedly reached a tentative agreement to delay China’s rare earth export restrictions for one year and the U.S. plan to impose an additional 100 percent tariff on Chinese imports. The talks between the two leaders are drawing attention for their potential impact on global trade tensions.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]