Lee Discusses Military Vessel Construction with Trump... Agrees to Pursue U.S. Visit and Golf Round
On July 7 (local time), President Lee Jae-myung met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit to hold follow-up discussions regarding the construction of military vessels.
On the 8th, Kang Yoo-jung, Chief Presidential Spokesperson, announced in a written briefing that President Lee attended the welcome dinner hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the first lady of Turkey the previous day, where he met with President Trump.
This meeting between the two leaders comes about three weeks after the Group of Seven (G7) Summit held in Evian, France last month. At that time, President Trump drew attention by asking President Lee if it would be possible to expedite the construction of 10 U.S. naval vessels.
President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump are talking at the official welcome dinner hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the first lady of Turkey at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, on the 7th (local time). 2026.7.8 Yonhap News Agency
View original imageOn this day, regarding the issue of military vessels, President Lee stated, "I will cooperate to the fullest extent possible with President Trump's request," and introduced domestic companies with shipbuilding capabilities. Chief Spokesperson Kang said that President Lee and President Trump agreed to continue working-level discussions to review concrete measures.
The two leaders also agreed to arrange for President Lee to visit the United States at an appropriate time and to use the occasion to play a round of golf together. President Lee has previously disclosed that he received a golf invitation from President Trump at the most recent G7 meeting.
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At that time, on his way back from the overseas trip, President Lee wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter), "While talking about golf, President Trump promised my wife and I that we would play golf together, even making a pinky promise with her. As we parted ways after lunch today, he again insisted we must play golf together. I thought it was just a passing comment, but now it seems I should prepare for it."
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