Donald Trump, the U.S. president, will host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for their first meeting in Washington on Monday. The two countries had struck a deal on trade last month that reduced U.S. duties on the Asian ally from 25% to 15%. Alongside trade, U.S. efforts to redefine the decades long military alliance are likely to be at the forefront. Trump also said that more South Korean investment packages will be announced, in addition to $350 billion agreed upon last month.

Here are some main topics that you could discuss.

DEFENSE COSTS

Trump accused South Korea of "free-riding on U.S. Military Might" with 28,500 American soldiers stationed there to deter a nuclear-armed North Korea. Seoul had agreed, in a five-year program, to raise its contribution to 1.52 trillion won ($1.09billion) in the first year of 2026. This was just before Trump won the November 2016 presidential election. Washington wants allies to raise defence spending up to 5% GDP. South Korea, which has allocated 61,25 trillion won or 2.3% GDP this year, is still far short of the 5% target.

US - 'MODERNISING" ALLIANCE AND CHINA DETERRENCE Elbridge Colby, the Under Secretary of Defense for Defense, called South Korea "a role model" because it is taking a larger role to deter North Korea. He also called on "modernising" alliance.

Experts believe the summit could include discussions about the idea of changing the role of U.S. forces from one that focuses on combating North Korea, to one that also manages tensions in Taiwan Strait while deterring China.

It could be sensitive to Seoul, given that President Lee, along with declaring his full support for the U.S.-led alliance, has sought to maintain a balance in his approach to relations with Beijing.

Experts warn that giving U.S. troops multiple missions may interfere with their primary goal of defeating and deterring a North Korean invasion.

Cho Hyun, South Korean foreign minister, has denied that Seoul is in discussions with Washington about whether U.S. troops can be redeployed if there were an emergency in the Taiwan Strait.

NORTH KOREA

South Korea said that the leaders would discuss the best way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Lee said to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday that his administration will lay the foundations for dismantling North Korea's nuke weapons program through talks with Pyongyang, and close collaboration with Washington. Lee has been trying to ease tensions between Pyongyang and Washington since he took office in June. Trump, on the other hand, still brags about his historic summits he had with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term.

Sydney Seiler is a senior advisor at the Center for Strategies and International Studies. She said that Lee and Trump both expressed their willingness to resume dialogue with Kim and may send a message jointly to North Korea. North Korea, however, has rejected Lee's peace efforts. It even dismantled loudspeaker broadcasts that were being sent across the border.

SHIPBUILDING Lee will visit the Pennsylvania-based Philly Shipyard during his U.S. tour, which was acquired by South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, and its parent company. The South Korean government cited the importance of shipbuilding to support U.S. industries in achieving a trade agreement.

South Korea has agreed that it will invest $150 billion of the total investment package in U.S. shipbuilding and further details could be announced at the summit.

Cho, the Foreign Minister, told the parliament that South Korea would try to get Washington's approval to reprocess and enrich its nuclear material at the summit. He said this was not to make nuclear weapons, but rather for industrial purposes and environmental reasons. A bilateral agreement prohibits South Korea from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, which could be used to create nuclear weapons. Seoul has signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Although President Lee rejected nuclear weapons, the head of his intelligence agency called on Seoul this year to obtain the right to enrich Uranium in order to demonstrate "potential nuclear capability."

CORPORATE INVESTMENT

South Korea stated that the leaders would discuss cooperation in areas like cutting-edge technology and key minerals, as well "economic security". Kim Yong Beom, presidential adviser, said that investments announced at the summit would include projects already announced by companies such as Samsung Electronics’ new chip factory located in Texas and Hyundai’s car factory in Georgia. Hanwha’s expansion plan for its U.S. Shipyard was also included. According to a South Korean newspaper, Seoul will offer an additional $150 billion in investment by 2024. This is about six times the amount of U.S. direct investment. South Korea's Industry Minister said that it was not decided.

Leaders may also discuss the timeline for reducing U.S. car import tariffs from 25% down to 15%, as agreed in the trade agreement. Both countries appeared to have different interpretations on the details of a $350 billion fund. Seoul also denied U.S. allegations that it had agreed to open its rice market.

(source: Reuters)