President Biden and first woman Jill Biden welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his spouse Kim Keon Hee to the White House on Tuesday evening for a state go to centered on China’s aggression, nuclear tensions in North Korea, and embarrassing U.S. intelligence leaks.
The leaders and their wives greeted one another within the White House’s Diplomatic Room earlier than departing to tour the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the Washington Mall.
Earlier Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris hailed the 70-year alliance between the U.S. and South Korea because the “linchpin of security” within the Indo-Pacific and mentioned the partnership will attain new heights with an settlement on area exploration and lunar analysis.
Ms. Harris and Mr. Yoon toured NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to mark the settlement.
“We renew our commitment to strengthen our cooperation in the next frontier of our expanding alliance — and, of course, that is space,” Ms. Harris mentioned in joint remarks with Mr. Yoon.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Yoon will have interaction in bilateral talks and host a joint press convention within the afternoon, adopted by a glittering state dinner on the White House. On Thursday, Mr. Yoon is scheduled to ship a speech to a joint assembly of Congress.
Mr. Yoon’s go to is the primary state go to to the U.S. by a South Korean chief in 12 years. It marks the seventieth anniversary of an alliance that has served because the cornerstone of U.S. technique in Asia and given rise to South Korea as an financial superpower.
Both leaders have underscored the significance of the alliance to satisfy geopolitical challenges starting from North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to the conflict in Ukraine.
South Korea has an enormous stockpile of ammunition however has refused to ship any to Ukraine to help in its conflict with Russia, out of worry of damaging its relationship with Moscow. However, South Korea has offered Ukraine with about $230 million in non-lethal support.
Mr. Biden has been amongst Ukraine’s greatest boosters on the worldwide stage, urging different nations to assist their conflict effort.
For his half, Mr. Biden will pledge that the U.S. will ramp up its efforts to discourage a North Korean assault on Seoul. The president will unveil new nuclear deterrence efforts, in addition to announce a cyber safety initiative to guard South Korea.
North Korea’s nuclear saber-rattling has stepped up lately as Pyongyang elevated its ballistic missile assessments. Earlier this month, North Korea examined a solid-fuel intercontinental missile, a doable breakthrough in its efforts to provide extra highly effective weaponry.
White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan introduced the initiatives Monday throughout a press briefing however didn’t provide any specifics.
One supply of stress between the 2 leaders could possibly be the large intelligence leak earlier this month that exposed Washington has surveilled its allies, together with South Korea.
The leaked papers confirmed that the South Korean National Security Council tussled with the U.S. final month over the Biden administration’s request to offer ammunition to Ukraine.
Last week, Seoul made an effort to ease fears that Mr. Yoon could be offended by the surveillance revelations. A spokesperson for the South Korean chief in a press release described its relationship with the U.S. as “resilient” and certainly one of “brothers.”
The assertion mentioned brothers can struggle for varied causes, however simply because they argue, it doesn’t imply they’re not brothers or household.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com