Trump accepts invitation to visit South Korea

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation to visit South Korea this year.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says he invited Trump and his wife, Melania, to visit.

Moon says Trump “graciously accepted” the offer. He spoke Friday in the White House Rose Garden.

Moon adds that the visit will “demonstrate not only our friendship but also the intimate bond our peoples have come to foster through thick and thin.”

The U.S. has been a longtime military ally of South Korea, which faces a nuclear weapons threat from North Korea.

But Trump is also concerned about the trade deficit with South Korea, which has grown since a free trade pact began between the two countries in 2012.

Trump used the occasion to say “the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed.”

Trump adds: “Frankly, that patience is over.”

Trump railed against the North Korean government as a “reckless and brutal regime” as he addresses the media with Moon.

He points to the death of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after being released from North Korean custody.

Trump says his goal is “peace, stability and prosperity” for the region, but warns the United States will “always” defend itself and its allies.

Trump also praises the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea as “a cornerstone of peace and security in a very, very dangerous part of the world.”