South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and President Joe Biden visited the Korea War Memorial in Washington on Tuesday. Tomorrow, the two leaders will meet at the White House to begin talks aimed at deepening the vital US-South Korea alliance.
Yoon visited the Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington DC with Vice President Kamala Harris the day before.
He also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery before joining Biden at the 1950-53 Korean War Memorial.
On Wednesday, Yoon and his wife Kim Kyung Hee will arrive at the White House as part of the South Korean President’s state visit to the White House. The program of the visit includes ceremonies and a gala dinner at the White House.
The White House said Tuesday that Biden presented Yoon with a handmade mahogany desk and vintage baseball memorabilia. First Lady Jill Biden presented the South Korean leader’s wife with a “blue sapphire pendant necklace designed by a Korean-American designer”.
Biden and Yoon are set to discuss deepening their countries’ partnership in an increasingly volatile Pacific region, where North Korea is ramping up production of nuclear-capable missiles and China is rocking Taiwan.
But both leaders have “uncomfortable” topics to discuss, said Katherine Moon, professor emeritus of political science at Wellesley College.
The South Korean president’s domestic approval ratings plummeted following his response to a recent US intelligence leak that showed Washington was spying on Seoul.
However, in an interview with NBC News, Yoon said the fight would not have lasting effects.
Washington and Seoul also highlight their strong cultural ties. The day before, Netflix announced a $2.5 billion investment in South Korean content. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos met with Yoon in Washington on Monday.
Biden’s priority will be to reassure his guest of the United States’ commitment to “extended deterrence”, the US nuclear and military umbrella under which South Korea falls.
“President Biden will strengthen and intensify our expanded commitment to protect South Korea from the threat” from North Korea, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he expects “great results in expanded deterrence, cyber cooperation and climate change mitigation, foreign aid, investment and humanitarian ties.”
Yun is expected to meet Washington’s demand for more support for Ukraine. Washington hopes South Korea – the world’s ninth-largest arms exporter – will help supply Kiev with ammunition and arms.
South Korea has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and sold tanks and howitzers to Poland, but Seoul has long maintained a policy of not supplying weapons to active conflict zones.
Read the Ukraine War News Latest Today on The Eastern Herald.
