Yoon to return without early Trump meeting

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday departed for South Korea after he wrapped up his visit to South America to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Group of 20 summit.

At Galeao Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro, Yoon boarded South Korea's Air Force One at 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday. Yoon was set to arrive in Seoul Thursday as tentatively scheduled, according to the presidential office. His wife Kim Keon Hee did not accompany Yoon on this trip.

The date for Yoon's return remained flexible, as the presidential office had suggested a possible early meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump on his way back to Seoul.

Asked about the possibility of Yoon meeting Trump on the occasion of his trip to South America, Seoul was "closely communicating on the matter with Trump representatives," according to an official of the presidential office on condition of anonymity on Nov. 12.

Also on Thursday in Lima, Peru, an unnamed presidential official told reporters that Seoul would "continue discussions with President-elect Trump’s team regarding policy matters and leader-to-leader engagement."

But the same official added that Trump's transition team notified all embassies that "meetings with foreign leaders are unlikely before the inauguration" on Jan. 20, as Trump was "devoting a considerable amount of time to domestic political matters.”

On the final day of his South America trip, for the first time since his inauguration in May 2022, Yoon held bilateral talks with his counterparts from the United Kingdom and South Africa.

In the two meetings, Yoon stressed international solidarity to counter military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including North Korea's deployment of troops to the front lines of the Ukraine war, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to Yoon's office.

Yoon and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to closer communication on the launch of a bilateral "2+2 meeting" of foreign and defense ministers, upgrading the bilateral free trade agreement, and cooperation in the defense industry and carbon-free energy, in a follow-up to the Downing Street Accord signed in November 2023.

Yoon also asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for his support for the forthcoming launch of the critical minerals dialogue on the occasion of the African Mining Indaba 2025, scheduled to take place in South Africa in February.

Once Yoon arrives back in Korea, a Cabinet reshuffle is considered highly likely before the year-end.

In Yoon's Cabinet, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho and Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong have each served more than two years. Meanwhile, the top post of the Gender Equality Ministry has remained vacant for nine months.