Trump ‘quietly’ preparing to visit South Korea in October, may meet China’s Xi Jinping: Report

A White House House official, meanwhile, confirmed that a visit of the US President Donald Trump to South Korea is possible.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: September 7, 2025 09:38 AM IST

2 min read

During a phone call with the US president last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Trump and his wife Melania to visit Beijing. (Source: NYT File Photo)

US President Donald Trump along with his top advisers are “quietly” preparing to visit South Korea in October to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, and he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit, a CNN report stated on Sunday.

The APEC Summit, which is scheduled to take place in the city of Gyeongju in South Korea between late October and early November, could see a sit down between Trump and Jinping on the sidelines, however, no agreements have yet been reached, report stated.

During a phone call with the US president in June, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Trump and his wife Melania to visit Beijing to which the Republican leader reciprocated but no dates have been finalized yet.

A White House House official, meanwhile, confirmed to CNN that a visit of the US president to South Korea is possible and that his goal would be negotiating economic, trade, civil energy and defense cooperation.

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“A visit to South Korea is being discussed, which would focus on economic collaboration,” a White House official told CNN.

The APEC Summit, chaired by South Korea, is scheduled for October 31 to November 1 in Gyeongju. The report added that Trump’s trip to South Korea could also act as an opportunity to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

During a meeting with the US president in Washington last week, the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung invited him to attend the APEC summit. Trump had conveyed it to Lee that he was willing to meet with Kim.

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“I will do that, and we’ll have talks. He’d like to meet with me. We look forward to meeting with him, and we’ll make relations better,” Trump said about the North Korean leader.

Trump, on Friday, shared a photo of Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and PM Narendra Modi and wrote, “We’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.”

(with inputs from CNN)

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