President Donald Trump may be facing protests back home calling for "no kings" in the United States, but in South Korea officials had the perfect gift for the monarch-loving magnate -- a replica golden crown.

Trump met South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday, part of a visit in which he is expected to hold tense trade talks with China's Xi Jinping.

And capping a lavish welcome ceremony in the historic South Korean capital of Gyeongju, Trump was presented with a replica of a crown worn by the kings of Silla, the dynasty that ruled from 57 BC to 935 AD.

The gift from South Korea was a replica of "the largest and most extravagant of the existing gold crowns" from the Silla period, Trump was told.

It represented "the divine connection between heavenly and earthly leadership".

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