S Korea's new leader talks tariffs in Trump call
SEOUL: South Korea's new leader Lee Jae-myung and Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to work towards a tariff deal, Seoul said, as a deadline approaches to avoid punishing US levies. Lee won a thumping victory in South Korea's election this week after months of political turmoil in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
In a call between the two leaders, they "agreed to work towards a mutually satisfactory agreement on bilateral tariff negotiations," according to Lee's office. "To that end, they agreed to encourage working-level negotiations to yield tangible results," a statement said.
During the phone call with Trump, Lee "emphasised the importance of the South Korea-US alliance as the foundation of the country's diplomacy". "They praised each other's leadership and affirmed their commitment to strengthening the alliance through close cooperation," Lee's office said. Washington is Seoul's long-time security ally and has around 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. The allies signed a new five-year agreement last year on sharing the cost of stationing US troops in South Korea, with Seoul agreeing to raise its contribution by 8.3 per cent to 1.52 trillion won for 2026. — AFP
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