Lee’s first bilateral trips pose major diplomatic test

President Lee Jae-myung will leave on Aug. 23 for visits to Japan and the United States. While he took part in the Group of Seven summit in Canada soon after taking office, this will be his first bilateral trip abroad. It will also be his first in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The summit’s schedule and agenda were not finalized until the last minute, prompting Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Trade Minister Kim Jeong-gwan to cancel their Japan stop and fly directly to Washington for urgent coordination.

This trip can be seen as foundational diplomacy, setting the course for the administration’s foreign policy over the next four years. The aim is to anchor the South Korea-U.S. alliance as the central pillar and extend it into a solid trilateral framework with Japan. Yet with uncertainty surrounding the summit until the final hours, some observers warn it could be one of the riskiest encounters between the two leaders. For Lee, it means facing a formidable test at the very start of his bilateral diplomacy.

That Lee will visit Japan before the United States, the country’s only treaty ally, is seen as a strategic choice. In a time of global upheaval, Japan has emerged as a partner to weather the turbulence together. On Aug. 23, Lee will meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and must build consensus on moving past historical disputes to focus on future cooperation. Marking the 60th anniversary of normalized relations, attention is on whether the two leaders can present a blueprint for broad partnership, potentially amounting to a new “Kim Dae-jung–Obuchi Declaration.”

The Aug. 25 meeting with Trump could play out as a tense, nationally televised event. The U.S. president views every matter through a transactional lens and does not hesitate to reveal his unpredictability or abrasiveness. There is even the possibility that Lee could face an unexpected embarrassment. Yet the summit also gives him a chance to demonstrate genuine communication and rapport, drawing on his warmth and quick adaptability.

The summit agenda includes difficult issues such as stabilizing trade and economic ties, increasing defense spending, adjusting the role of U.S. forces in Korea, and coordinating policy on North Korea. South Korea must demonstrate both its commitment to self-reliance and its contributions to the alliance while securing stronger U.S. nuclear deterrence against Pyongyang. Even if President Trump is harsher toward allies, South Korea must persuade him with its sincerity in seeking a win-win alliance, along with its own efforts for self-reliance. That is how a “Korea-U.S.-Japan win-win-win” strategy can be forged for shared success.