Seoul:  President Donald Trump has announced a major trade and investment agreement with South Korea during his visit to Seoul, even as North Korea fired cruise missiles in a show of defiance.

Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to finalize the deal, which includes around 350 billion dollars in new South Korean investments in the United States.

About 200 billion dollars will be direct financial commitments, while 150 billion dollars is expected to go toward reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry with South Korean collaboration. The agreement also sets up a profit-sharing structure, with both nations splitting profits equally until the initial investment is recovered.

A new U.S.-led committee will monitor and approve investment projects under the deal.

Although the agreement has been completed in principle, it still requires approval from South Korea’s parliament. Both leaders hailed the deal as a step toward strengthening economic and defense ties between the two allies.

However, the diplomatic success was overshadowed by renewed military activity from North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that Pyongyang launched several sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its west coast just hours before Trump’s arrival.

The missiles were detected around 3 p.m. local time, prompting heightened military vigilance in Seoul and Washington.

Trump addressed the situation by reaffirming the United States’ commitment to regional security and expressed his openness to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again. “I’d love to meet him, but we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, adding that any talks would depend on Pyongyang’s willingness to engage.

South Korea marked the U.S. president’s visit with high honors, presenting him with the country’s highest decoration, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, in recognition of his role in advancing bilateral relations. Still, Trump’s visit was met with mixed reactions domestically, as hundreds of protesters in Seoul expressed concerns about U.S. tariffs and defense agreements.

The visit comes at a critical time for East Asia, with Trump expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week to discuss trade and regional security. Analysts say the new South Korea–U.S. trade deal could reshape the economic balance in the region while testing North Korea’s response to renewed American influence in the Korean Peninsula.