Trump visits South Korea as he attempts to secure billions in investment

U S President Donald Trump on Wednesday met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju the final stop on his Asia tour aimed at securing new capital deals The Republic of Korea is a cherished American friend and a close ally And as we can see in this beautiful city it's truly one of the most of remarkable nations anywhere on earth Trump noted ahead of the meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC CEO Summit adding that South Korea's president is a terrific person During their bilateral meeting Lee appealed Trump to consider allowing South Korea to access fuel for conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines a long-standing restriction under a U S nonproliferation deal Trump's previous stops during his trip included visits to Malaysia and Japan After his visit to Japan yielded roughly billion in stake commitments Trump revealed a bargain deal with South Korea has proven more challenging as he seeks an additional billion in U S investments Trump predicted total new venture could reach upwards of trillion in investments by the end of his first year back in the White House TRUMP S FOCUS TURNS TO JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA AS ASIA TRIP CONTINUES I figure that we'll apparently be at or maybe even trillion of investments coming into our country by the end of the first year of my second term the president revealed And we had a tremendously productive first term We had the strongest financial market in history for our country the strongest we ever had But this is I think blowing it away We have a great framework We have a few very good things happening Around the world we're signing one transaction deal after another to balance our relationships on the basis of reciprocity Trump added I've signed groundbreaking agreements with Malaysia Cambodia Japan and our deal with the Republic of Korea will be finalized very soon These agreements will be incredible victories for all of us because everyone is better off when we have stable partnerships not plagued by chronic problems and imbalances Speaking to business executives at the event Trump described an economic revolution underway in the United States The president urged the executives not to listen to small minds with no vision pledging to build arrangement prosper and thrive together TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH XI JINPING AT SOUTH KOREA APEC SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTHTrump later received South Korea's Grand Order of Mugunghwa the nation's highest honor along with a replica of a royal crown from the ancient Silla Kingdom symbolizing Seoul's recognition of his prior diplomatic efforts Trump s visit coincided with new tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea stated it fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast He s been launching missiles for decades right Trump revealed of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Trump reiterated his willingness to meet with the North's leader saying We had a really good understanding of each other In a separate speech South Korea's leader warned against rising protectionism urging global cooperation on commerce a message that contrasted with Trump's America First pitch Trump also previewed his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping You know that President Xi of China is coming here the subsequent day and we're going to be I hope making a deal Trump noted I think we're going to have a deal I think it'll be a good deal for both And that's really a great product That's better than fighting and having all sorts of problems And you know no reason for it he added The Associated Press contributed to this description