“Smart person” mentioned several times… Handwritten message saying “Always with you” also delivered, “You are a great person and a great leader. Korea will have an amazing future at higher places with you. I am always with you.”
This is the content of the memo that U.S. President Donald Trump personally wrote and delivered to President Lee Jae-myung during the Korea-U.S. summit held at the White House on the 25th (local time).
Trump said to President Lee on that day, “You will receive full support from the U.S.,” reported Kang Yoo-jung, the spokesperson for the presidential office.
Spokesperson Kang provided a briefing at the press center set up in Washington, D.C. immediately after the summit, sharing these details from the closed-door meeting. “After the luncheon, President Trump exchanged pleasant greetings with President Lee, saying ‘great progress, great people, great negotiations,'” she explained.
Regarding the North Korea-U.S. dialogue, when President Lee suggested meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, President Trump responded, “That’s a wise suggestion.”
President Trump also remarked to the Korean attendees, “President Lee is the first leader to suggest meeting with Kim Jong-un,” and praised him as “a really smart person.”
Spokesperson Kang reported that President Trump frequently used the term “smart” when referring to President Lee.
The two leaders also shared similar personal experiences, enhancing their rapport.
President Lee mentioned to President Trump, “We both have similar backgrounds,” and referenced a past situation where he nearly lost his life due to assassination threats, to which President Trump expressed his empathy, according to Spokesperson Kang.
President Lee Jae-myung is holding a Korea-U.S. summit with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on the 25th (local time). Yonhap News