South Korea's Lee to attend UN General Assembly, visit Mexico for Sheinbaum summit — SkimNews
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- Lee Jae Myung will travel to the US and Mexico from Sept. 21–27 to attend the UN General Assembly, hold a summit with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and pursue sideline meetings with leaders of the US, Australia, and other countries.
- A potential Trump meeting would unfold as Seoul and Washington continue negotiating details of South Korea's $350 billion US investment package under a trade deal struck last year.
- Seoul postponed a parliamentary briefing on the $350 billion investment plans that had been scheduled for last week; South Korean officials told Reuters the talks remain ongoing.
- Lee is scheduled to deliver a Tuesday UN keynote on reforming the United Nations and to outline his vision for peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, and will meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
- Sheinbaum will host Lee in Mexico City on Thursday, followed by a joint press conference and the signing of memorandums of understanding in trade, energy, aerospace, and culture.
- Mexico is South Korea's largest Kpop market, and Seoul sees opportunities for expanded defense cooperation as Mexico modernizes its military.
Why it matters: Lee is mid-negotiation on a $350 billion US investment package while simultaneously opening a new diplomatic channel with Mexico — packaging both relationships into one week makes any Trump sideline meeting a high-stakes checkpoint on a deal that already slipped its parliamentary briefing.
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