SEOUL, South Korea — During the South Korean election campaign this year, Lee Jae Myung said he would crawl between President Donald Trump’s legs, if necessary, to protect his country’s national interests. But he also said, “I am not a pushover, either.”

South Korea hopes to normalise relations with China that have been strained in recent years, a special envoy from Seoul told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday, and agreed to boost economic cooperation,

South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, will face a pivotal moment on Monday (Aug 25) when he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington for their first summit, as the countries' decades-old alliance strains to confront rapid geopolitical changes.