U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju – the final stop on his Asia tour aimed at securing new investment deals. 

"The Republic of Korea is a cherished American friend and a close ally. And as we can see in this beautiful city, it's truly one of the most remarkable nations anywhere on earth," Trump said ahead of the meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, adding that South Korea's president "is a terrific person."

During their bilateral meeting, Lee asked Trump to consider allowing South Korea to access fuel for conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines – a long-standing restriction under a U.S. nonproliferation deal. 

Trump's previous stops during his trip included visits to Malaysia and Japan.

After his visit to Japan yielded roughly $490 billion in investment commitments, Trump said a trade deal with South Korea has proven more challenging as he seeks an additional $350 billion in U.S. investments. Trump predicted total new investment could reach upwards of $22 trillion in investments by the end of his first year back in the White House.

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"I figure that we'll probably be at 20 or 21, maybe even $22 trillion of investments coming into our country by the end of the first year of my second term," the president said. "And we had a tremendously successful first term. We had the strongest economy in history for our country, the strongest we ever had. But this is, I think, blowing it away. We have a great policy. We have some very good things happening."

"Around the world, we're signing one trade deal after another to balance our relationships on the basis of reciprocity," Trump added. "I've signed groundbreaking agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Japan, and our deal with the Republic of Korea will be finalized very soon. These agreements will be incredible victories for all of us, because everyone is better off when we have stable partnerships not plagued by chronic problems and imbalances."

Speaking to business executives at the event, Trump described an "economic revolution" underway in the United States. The president urged the executives not to listen to "small minds with no vision," pledging to "build, trade, prosper and thrive together." 

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Trump later received South Korea's Grand Order of Mugunghwa – the nation's highest honor – along with a replica of a royal crown from the ancient Silla Kingdom, symbolizing Seoul's recognition of his prior diplomatic efforts. 

Trump’s visit coincided with new tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea said it fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles off its western coast. 

"He’s been launching missiles for decades, right?" Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump reiterated his willingness to meet with the North's leader, saying, "We had a really good understanding of each other." 

In a separate speech, South Korea's leader warned against rising protectionism, urging global cooperation on trade – a message that contrasted with Trump's America First pitch. 

Trump also previewed his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"You know that President Xi of China is coming here tomorrow, and we're going to be, I hope, making a deal," Trump said. "I think we're going to have a deal. I think it'll be a good deal for both. And that's really a great result."

"That's better than fighting and having all sorts of problems. And, you know, no reason for it," he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

During the final leg of his Asia trip en route to South Korea, President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, expressing confidence in his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of their meeting at an economic summit. 

Asked about U.S. efforts to curb fentanyl trafficking, Trump said the issue would be central to his discussions with Xi.

Ahead of his meeting with the Chinese leader, Trump said he hoped for progress on "a lot of problems," including fentanyl trafficking, trade and tariffs.

"China is going to be working with me, okay," Trump told reporters. "They’re going to be working with me, and we’re going to do something, I believe."

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Trump said the issue would be a major topic of discussion in his upcoming meeting. 

"We have to have the meeting — a meeting tomorrow. That’s a big meeting," he said. "And fentanyl will be one of the things that we’re discussing. The farmers will be discussing a lot of things, but fentanyl will be one of the things we discuss."

Trump stated that the fentanyl crisis and drug trafficking across the southern border are directly related, calling them "tremendous amounts of death."

"We took in tremendous amounts of death. I call them the boats of death," he said. "Under Biden and open borders, stuff was flowing. I think they killed 300,000 people last year — fentanyl drugs coming through the southern border. And now nobody gets through this. We’re very tough on the border."

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Trump credited his policies with a sharp reduction in illegal drug trafficking by sea, saying it was "down about 80% by water."

He also praised U.S. law enforcement and border officials for their efforts, saying, "Our border agents, our Border Patrol agents, they’ve been amazing. ICE — these people do such a great job with what they’re doing."

During his visit, Trump also commented on international security issues, including the Israel-Hamas conflict and North Korea’s recent missile launches. He said he expects his meeting with Xi to be productive, adding, "I think we’ll get a great meeting with President Xi of China. And a lot of problems are going to be solved."

Trump’s comments underscored his push to link border security and international cooperation as key priorities ahead of his meeting with Xi.