South Korea cannot “readily agree to” expanding the mission of American troops stationed on the peninsula beyond deterring North Korea, President Lee Jae-myung said ahead of his first summit with Donald Trump on Monday.

The ROK leader’s remarks, which he made to reporters on a plane en route to Washington, came against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s push for greater strategic flexibility for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to focus more on countering China, a move that would increase Seoul’s responsibility for defending against DPRK attack.

“It is true that there have been requests for flexibility [from the U.S. side],