Trump lands in South Korea, frontlines of North Korean nuclear standoff
SEOUL (AFP) - A special sauce more than a century older than the United States will be on the menu for Donald Trump at his state banquet in Seoul on Tuesday – along with a diplomatically tricky prawn.
The dinner, at the Blue House compound next to a former royal palace, includes a beef rib dish accompanied by a gravy made with an "exquisite, 360-year-old soy sauce," said a spokesman for Seoul's presidential office.
The age implies it was made in 1657, the year the father of the US Declaration of Independence signatory Benjamin Franklin was born.
Tuesday's menu also includes a grilled sole – known to be Trump's favorite fish -- and an unnamed official told the South's Yonhap news agency: "The menu contains food that has local, traditional flavor that could also appeal to the taste of the US head of state."
OSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Tuesday, the closest he has come to the frontlines of the nuclear standoff with North Korea, on a visit that could further aggravate tensions with Pyongyang.
Landing at Osan Air Base outside the capital Seoul, Trump stepped down from Air Force One onto a red carpet as he began his 24-hour state visit with a ceremonial military honor guard arrayed on the airport tarmac.
The White House says Trump’s trip is intended to demonstrate US resolve over his hardline approach to North Korean nuclear and missile threats, but many in the region fear that further bellicose presidential rhetoric could increase the risk of a devastating military conflict on the Korean peninsula.
Three US aircraft carrier strike groups will conduct exercises together in the Western Pacific in the coming days in a show of force rarely seen in the region, US officials said, as Trump continues his 12-day Asia tour aimed at forging a united front against North Korea and developing trade.
Trump is seeking to further ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang following his visit to Tokyo, where he declared that Japan would shoot North Korean missiles “out of the sky” if it bought the US weaponry needed to do so, suggesting that the Japanese government take a stance it has avoided until now.