On October 29, 2025, President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea for a visit. He is currently delivering a speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Lunch meeting.
Upon his arrival at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, he was welcomed by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. He received a red carpet welcome, accompanied by a military band playing the song “YMCA,” which was one of Trump’s main campaign songs.
Trump’s arrival was delayed by about 90 minutes from the original schedule. The delay was due to North Korea conducting a test of a new cruise missile in its western waters just a few hours earlier.
A key part of Trump’s visit to South Korea is to participate in the APEC Summit held in Gyeongju. South Korea is the host country for this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. During the summit, Trump is expected to meet with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and other important regional leaders.
He arrived in Southeast Asia on Sunday, with his first stop being Malaysia. During meetings with Malaysian and other regional officials, Trump successfully secured key commitments on rare earths and addressing trade imbalances.
He also announced four trade agreements reached with Malaysia and other countries.
On Monday, Trump visited Tokyo, where he held meetings with Japanese officials, including the newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and had an audience with Emperor Naruhito.
(This article will be updated later with more details on Trump’s speech.)