U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping review soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November 2017. File Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA
SEOUL, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The United Nations General Assembly has concluded, and now the world turns its gaze to Gyeongju, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, meeting convenes.
This gathering may prove an even grander stage than New York. The Oct. 31-Nov. 1 summit will be historic: the first joint visit by American and Chinese leaders to South Korea in 13 years, the first U.S.-China summit on Korean soil and the first summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping since 2019.
In an era where the international order is being redrawn along the lines of a new Cold War, the meeting of these two global titans has cast the world's spotlight on Korea.
Speculation is rife that a dramatic reprise of the 2019 "Panmunjom surprise" -- when the U.S. and North Korean leaders stood together at the border -- could unfold. If it does, Gyeongju's APEC summit will not merely be a diplomatic gathering; it will become a high-stakes barometer of global politics.
