Trump weighs October visit to South Korea, possible Xi Jinping meeting on sidelines of APEC

Washington and Seoul are quietly laying the groundwork for a high-profile visit by US President Donald Trump to South Korea this October, with the possibility of a pivotal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, according to CNN.

The annual summit, hosted this year in Gyeongju from October 31 to November 1, is expected to draw top global leaders against a backdrop of mounting geopolitical tensions and shifting economic alliances. Trump’s advisers are reportedly exploring the visit as an opportunity to strengthen trade, energy, and defense cooperation with Seoul, while also leaving open the prospect of a landmark face-to-face with Xi.

According to officials, the two leaders discussed a potential meeting during a June phone call in which Xi invited Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to Beijing. Though no dates have been finalized, the APEC sidelines could serve as their first encounter since Trump’s return to the White House.

A White House official confirmed to CNN that “a visit to South Korea is being discussed, which would focus on economic collaboration,” while signaling that broader regional diplomacy is also on the table.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who met Trump in Washington last week, extended the formal invitation to attend the summit. Trump, in turn, suggested he is also open to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the trip. “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 told reporters.

The prospect of a packed diplomatic agenda — from Xi to Kim — underscores how Trump’s potential October trip could recalibrate Washington’s role in the Indo-Pacific at a moment of intensifying strategic competition with China.

Just days earlier, Trump had posted an image of Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the caption: “We’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.”