President Donald Trump hands a pen he used to South Korean President Moon Jae-In at a signing ceremony for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, in New York.
- President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed the first major agreement of Trump's trade agenda.
- The agreement was an update with significant improvements to reduce the trade deficit between the countries.
- Trump called it a "very big deal" and also revealed he would be meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a second time.
President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed the first major agreement of Trump's trade agenda.
The leaders signed an update to an existing US-South Korea free-trade agreement Monday in New York at the UN General Assembly.
Trump called it a "very big deal" and said the new agreement makes significant improvements to reduce the trade deficit between the countries and create new opportunities to export American products to South Korea. He also said US automobiles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products will gain better access to Korean markets.
Moon said companies from both countries will be able to do business under more stable conditions. The South Korean leader also said he hopes the revised agreement with the US will help solidify their cooperation in other areas.
Trump is currently on one end of a fierce trade war between the US and China that has escalated in recent days with a new round of tariffs on roughly $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The leaders met 12 months after Trump stood at the rostrum of the assembly and derided North Korea's Kim Jong Un as "Rocket Man." Amid touting an improved situation with North Korea, Trump received a personal message Kim had entrusted to Moon after their inter-Korean talks last week.
Trump waved off last year's tense moments at the assembly, saying he was open to Kim's message and more optimistic about North Korean-American relations at the time of this year's assembly.
"It was a different world," Trump said. "That was a dangerous time. This is one year later, a much different time."
Trump said in the "not too distant" future he would be holding a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that will unfold much like their first meeting, except for the location. He said details will be announced "pretty soon."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is working out the details for the second meeting, Trump said, upon Kim's requested in a letter.