South Korea officially greeted U.S. President Donald Trump and gave him a replica of the crown used in coronations, officials said on Wednesday in an apparent show of goodwill to soothe relations between people from the two countries.
Trump arrived in South Korea after traveling to Malaysia and Japan, where high-profile trade discussions were expected to take place with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Warplanes, led by U.S. and South Korean fighter jets, escorted Air Force One as it came in to land, and on the tarmac, a military band played “YMCA” as South Korean guns fired a salute.
Lee is seeking concessions from Trump in protracted negotiations to reduce U.S. tariffs on South Korea, and has wooed the U.S. president by complimenting him on his North Korea outreach.
In honour of Trump’s role as “a peacemaker” on the Korean peninsula, Lee was given the Mugunghwa Order (the Grand Order of Mugunghwa), which is named after South Korea’s national flower, a pink hibiscus that some call the Rose of Sharon in English.
“I want to put it on right now,” Trump said, taking the glimmering award in his hands. A South Korean official said he was the first U.S. president to be so honoured.
Trump held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term, and the talks later fell apart as Pyongyang advanced its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
He reiterated his call on Wednesday to meet with Kim, although North Korea has yet to comment on his recent overtures.
Lee sported a gold-coloured necktie that was custom-made for the visit, but his office said, “It represents President Trump’s taste for gold, symbolizes the golden future of the Korea-US alliance and South Korea’s status”.
Lee and Trump met at a museum in the city of Gyeongju, a sleepy tourist town dominated by ancient tombs and palaces from when it played host to the capital of the ancient Silla kingdom, which ruled about a third of the Korean peninsula until the 9th century.
Trump was presented with a replica of the gold Cheonmachong crown. The ethereal original, unearthed from a Gyeongju tomb, has towering gold prongs and dangling leaf shapes.
“This symbolizes the respect for the history of Silla, which was the first unified Korean kingdom and held calm and peaceful relations with China and Japan; a new era of opening up among the United States, South Korea, which fully opened over 120 years (sic); and a new era of peace between North Korea/South Korea.”
The leaders had a working lunch featuring Thousand Island salad dressing in what Lee’s office described as an homage to Trump’s “success story in his hometown of New York.” Also on the menu were local delicacies, “according to President Trump’s tastes.”
On the menu: “mini beef patties with ketchup”, a ”Korean Platter of Sincerity” featuring U.S. beef and local rice and soybean paste, and grilled fish in a sauce made of ketchup plus gochujang, red chilli paste. The lunch was concluded with a “Peacemaker’s Dessert” of a brownie topped with gold.
The day will conclude with a dinner with the leaders of Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, and Singapore. The leaders will be served Trump Chardonnay and Trump Cabernet Sauvignon, produced at a winery operated by Trump’s son Eric Trump, Lee’s office reported.
Three diplomatic sources told Reuters that some of those leaders have since altered their schedules to meet Trump, who is arriving and will leave early in the day before the main meeting of Asia-Pacific nations on Friday and Saturday.
It is not the usual place for an international gathering, and foreign diplomats grumbled about difficulties reserving rooms, finding venues in which to meet, and having to shuttle staff out of Seoul.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday objected to reports of room shortages, saying only about half the available rooms in the area had been reserved.
