South Korean President will visit a shipyard in Philadelphia during his visit to the United States, promoting U.S.-South Korea economic cooperation.

French media: South Korean president visiting the US will visit a Philadelphia shipyard

South Korea - On the second day of the first summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Trump in Washington, South Korean airline Korean Air announced plans to purchase 103 aircraft from Boeing, with a total value of 36.2 billion dollars; it also signed a procurement agreement worth 13.7 billion dollars with GE Aerospace.

In addition, South Korea pledged to invest 15 billion dollars to help revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Yoon Suk-yeol believes that the shipbuilding investment is a win-win, not only pleasing Trump, but also an opportunity for South Korean shipbuilding to surpass China. As The Washington Post said, this project was soon called "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again." The Washington Post also stated that "Trump has made revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding industry a priority, trying to narrow the gap with China, which dominates."

RFI's Seoul-based journalist Célio Fioretti said that as the world's second-largest shipbuilding country, South Korea has the professional expertise that Trump expects to revitalize its shipyards. The South Korean president plans to visit a South Korean shipyard located in Philadelphia during his visit.

Aside from economic issues, military issues were the second major topic of the summit, at least a tricky one. Both allies hope to change their military cooperation, but how exactly remains to be seen. Donald Trump is considering increasing the fees that Seoul pays for its 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea to counter North Korea.

The Pentagon is considering withdrawing some troops to address Washington's main challenge - China. Therefore, South Korea must obtain security assurances without exhausting its funds.

RFI's Seoul-based reporter said that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol hopes to seize the opportunity to gain greater strategic autonomy from the United States. On August 23, he visited Japan and met with the Japanese Prime Minister, aiming to gain greater autonomy and build new friendships. According to the South Korean presidential office, the focus of this meeting was how to cooperate in an environment where Trump is unpredictable.

These two neighboring countries discussed their common relationship with the United States and planned to take the lead in the "Seoul-Tokyo-Washington" trilateral, which had previously been dominated by the latter. This represents a new form of cooperation between Japan and South Korea in the Asia-Pacific region, where Sino-U.S. relations remain extremely tense.

Sources: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841564763594891/

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