Barely two months into office, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung faces a pivotal foreign policy test, heading into back-to-back summits in Tokyo and Washington that reflect the wider struggle of U.

When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung meets U.S. President Donald Trump next week for their first summit, he'll face calls to pay more for the upkeep of American troops on the peninsula with security issues expected to be among the top agenda items.

Since taking office in a snap election in June, the liberal Lee has taken steps to lower tensions with the nuclear-armed North, and the issue is one where he is expected to find common ground with Trump, who still boasts of his historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.