Call it golf diplomacy.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol picked up a club for the first time in eight years in preparation for a possible round of golf with United States President-elect Donald Trump, the South Korean presidential office told local media Tuesday.Yoon was advised to practice the sport to develop chemistry with Trump — a golf lover who played often during his first stint as U.S. president — before he takes office, local media reported.
That strategy previously proved successful for Japan’s late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who played with Trump multiple times and gifted him a gold-plated golf club (despite falling into a bunker during one of their rounds).
“I understand that [President Yoon] started practicing golf in accordance with the advice of those around him in consideration of various circumstances, including the U.S. presidential election,” said an official close to the presidential office, according to South Korean media.Trump’s reelection last week sparked concerns in South Korea that it could negatively affect trade interests and the U.S.’s defense commitment to the country, especially with nuclear tensions high on the peninsula as North Korea joins Russia’s war in Ukraine.The presidential office also reported that Yoon is pushing for a meeting between the two before his upcoming trip to South America for the G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits Nov. 14-21.
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