WASHINGTON DC – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung concluded his first White House meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday, navigating what his staff feared would be a diplomatic minefield.
The visit, a high-stakes affair aimed at shoring up the US-Korea alliance, was defined by a remarkable shift in tone, a pointed “Zelensky moment,” and a revealing nod to the “Art of the Deal,” Trump’s 1987 bestseller.
Familiar Gambit, New Strategy
The meeting in the Oval Office began under a cloud of uncertainty after Trump took to social media hours before the summit to post a vaguely threatening message about a supposed “Purge or Revolution” in South Korea. This move, a familiar gambit for the US President, set off alarm bells among Lee’s staff, who, according to the South Korean President, worried about a repeat of the fraught meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.
Speaking at a Statesmen’s Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Monday evening, President Lee candidly addressed his team’s apprehension, describing how they feared a “Zelensky moment” – a public and tense confrontation that could sour relations.
The Ukrainian leader’s infamous February meeting with Trump, which was marked by a public disagreement over gratitude for US aid, served as a potent cautionary tale.
Gratitude and the ‘Art of the Deal’
But the feared confrontation never materialized. Instead, President Lee, in a masterclass of what some observers are calling “gratitude diplomacy,” disarmed the situation with flattery and a shared strategic vision.
He lauded Trump’s past peacemaking efforts on the Korean Peninsula and even suggested the possibility of a “Trump World” complex being built in North Korea, a clear and public appeal to the American President’s business interests. Lee revealed the intellectual foundation for this approach, telling the CSIS audience he had prepared for the meeting by reading “Trump: The Art of the Deal.”
He explained that he viewed Trump’s public criticisms and unpredictable style not as genuine hostility, but as a negotiating tactic – a core principle of the famous memoir.
By approaching the meeting from this perspective, Lee was able to steer the conversation toward constructive dialogue.
Successful Summit
The result was an unexpectedly warm and productive summit. The two leaders agreed to modernize their alliance and strengthen trilateral cooperation with Japan in the face of North Korean threats.
President Lee also pledged to increase South Korea’s defense spending, a key demand from the Trump administration for greater burden-sharing. Ultimately, the South Korean President’s visit was a study in strategic adaptability.
He not only avoided the “Zelensky moment” his team had dreaded but turned a potentially hostile encounter into a platform for reinforcing the alliance.
By speaking the language of “The Art of the Deal,” President Lee secured a successful first meeting and laid the groundwork for future cooperation, all while maintaining a delicate balance between the US and China.