U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on the 8th (local time) that he had "talked with the acting president of South Korea regarding tariffs, shipbuilding, and defense costs."
On this day, President Trump spoke with Acting President Han Duck-soo for about 28 minutes from 9:03 p.m. to 9:31 p.m. Korean time. This is the first time the leaders of South Korea and the United States have communicated since the start of Trump's second administration. President Trump posted on Truth Social about 50 minutes after the call.
President Trump said he had a good "currency" with the acting president of South Korea. He noted, "We discussed the huge and unsustainable trade surplus, tariffs, shipbuilding, large-scale purchases of U.S. LNG, joint ventures related to the Alaska pipeline, and the significant 'expense' payments we are providing to South Korea regarding military power."
President Trump commented on the military presence cost (defense burden sharing) that South Korea pays to the U.S. annually, saying, "They started paying billions of dollars during my first term, but sleepy Joe Biden ended the contracts for reasons unknown. It shocked everyone." He added, "In any case, we have constraints and possibilities for good 'transaction' between the two countries."
When President Trump was first elected, he demanded that South Korea increase its defense burden sharing to about $5 billion, which is 5 to 6 times the previous level. However, the two countries could not narrow their differences over the burden sharing size. South Korea and the U.S. held follow-up negotiations shortly after the Biden administration began in January 2021.
Last year, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a burden sharing agreement setting the defense cost at 1.5192 trillion won, an 8.3% increase from the previous year, effective from 2026, and raising the burden sharing in line with the consumer price index increase until 2030.
President Trump also mentioned, "Their (South Korea's) top team boarded a flight to the U.S., and things are going smoothly." He added, "Just like with South Korea, we are starting discussions on other topics that cannot be resolved through trade and tariffs and are also progressing with negotiations."
He said, "'One stop shopping' is a beautiful and efficient process," adding, "China wants to engage in 'transaction,' but they do not know how to begin." He continued, "We are waiting for their call. It will happen soon."