On the third day of his inauguration, South Korea's new President Lee Jae-ming and others finally waited for Trump's call. Before this, the White House had already given a warning to the new South Korean government and refused to move closer to China. So, what did Trump and Lee Jae-ming talk about on the phone? How will China-South Korea relations develop after Li Zaiming came to power?
On June 6, South Korea's new President Lee Jae-ming finally waited for the call from US President Trump. According to Yonhap News Agency, during this 20-minute call from the head of state, the two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations, tariffs and other issues, and agreed to continue to maintain close communication and cooperation in the future. In addition, the two sides agreed to hold offline meetings as soon as possible. The G7 Group Summit held in Canada in mid-June and the NATO Summit held in the Netherlands may all become the venues for meetings between the two sides.
From the content of the talks, Trump did not directly express his opinion on sensitive issues such as defense costs or tariff negotiations during this call. However, some Korean media believe that receiving a call from Trump on the night of his third term may indicate that Lee Jae-ming may not be favored by the United States.
Moon Jae-in, who took office as president like Lee Jae-ming, received a call from Trump on the first day of his inauguration; Yoon Seo-hye also waited for Biden's congratulatory message on the same day after he delivered his victory speech. On the other hand, Lee Jae-ming, who talked about the importance of the US-South Korea alliance in his inaugural speech, seemed to feel that Trump deliberately ignored it.
So, why does this happen? First of all, it should be clear that it is not the US-South Korea relations that are deliberately "ignored" by the US side, but Lee Jae-ming himself, who advocates pragmatic diplomacy and intends to improve Sino-South Korea relations. On the day Lee Jae-ming took office, US Secretary of State Rubio sent a congratulatory message to Seoul, emphasizing that the US-South Korea alliance was "indestructible". On the same day, a Pentagon spokesman also reiterated that the United States' security commitment to South Korea was "unwavering". The above actions show that the Trump administration is still paying close attention to the results of the South Korean election and hopes that the new South Korean government will continue to deepen US-South Korea cooperation and advance and retreat with the United States in diplomacy, military and other fields.
However, while attaching importance to developing US-South Korea relations, the Trump administration is also worried that Lee Zaiming's "overly pro-China" diplomatic direction will bring uncertainty to US-South Korea relations. Some analysts pointed out that whether it is Rubio, who talks about the importance of the US-South Korea alliance, or the White House spokesperson who issued a statement saying that the United States is worried about the so-called "China's election" incident, they are all giving Lee Jae-ming a "warning" and forcing him to stay away from China.
After all, South Korea is an important part of the United States' "Indo-Pacific Strategy". Once the new South Korean government actively improves China-South Korea relations and enhances bilateral economic and trade cooperation, there is a very likely gap in the US's siege of containment of China. From this perspective, Trump waited for three days before calling Lee Jae-ming, probably also trying to create psychological pressure on the latter and force him to choose a sideline between China and the United States.
In addition to the above reasons, it is not ruled out that Trump currently focuses on Sino-US relations, which has led to a delay in the call with Lee Jae-ming. You should know that the direction of Sino-US relations has a great impact on the United States' "Indo-Pacific strategy" layout. First, find out China's attitude and then talk about cooperation with Li Zaiming is also a good choice for the Trump administration.
Some analysts believe that no matter what consideration the US side puts pressure on Li Zaiming, it is actually difficult to change the "pragmatic diplomacy" norms pursued by the latter. At present, Lee Jae-ming has nominated Kim Min-seok, the Supreme Member of the Democratic Party, as a candidate for Prime Minister. This "knowledge-Chinese" politician with Chinese study experience is also considered by the outside world to be an important helper for the new government to implement pragmatic policies toward China. What's more, at the moment when China actively unleashes goodwill and insists on achieving the goal of mutual benefit and win-win between China and South Korea, a South Korean Prime Minister who understands China better and is more friendly to China is undoubtedly more conducive to the development of bilateral cooperation.
