Yoon and Biden reaffirm alliance, agree to expanded exercises

Politics

Published: 21 May. 2022, 20:33 Updated: 22 May. 2022, 13:50

Yoon and Biden reaffirm alliance, agree to expanded exercises

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint press conference after their first bilateral summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Saturday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to expand the "scope and scale" of combined military exercises and training on the Korean Peninsula in response to the "evolving" Pyongyang threat in their first summit Saturday.

The two leaders also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to deploy American strategic military assets "in a timely and coordinated manner as necessary," and to take further steps to reinforce deterrence in response to the North's "destabilizing activities," according to a joint statement released by the leaders after their talks.

"Both leaders agree to initiate discussions to expand the scope and scale of combined military exercises and training on and around the Korean Peninsula," according to the statement. They agreed to reactivate the bilateral high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group, which has not met since early January 2018. They will further expand cooperation to confront a range of cyber threats from the North, including state-sponsored cyber-attacks.

In recent years, military exercises between the United States and South Korea have been scaled down amid diplomatic overtures toward North Korea by the Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump governments and because of the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea calls drills rehearsals for an invasion.

Biden said during a press conference with Yoon after the talks, U.S. and South Korean troops serving side by side are "emblematic of our strength, and our continuing strength, and the durability of our alliances and our readiness to take on all threats together.

"Today, President Yoon and I committed to strengthening our close engagement and work together to take on challenges of regional security, including addressing the threat posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by further strengthening our deterrence posture and working toward a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added, referring to the official name of North Korea.

The two presidents met at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul and discussed a number of issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program, expanding the strategic economic and technological partnership between the United States and Korea and strengthening the global comprehensive strategic alliance.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, left, welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden ahead of their bilateral summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Saturday. [YONHAP]

Ahead of the summit with Yoon Saturday, Biden paid a visit to Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, to pay tribute to casualties of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Biden arrived at the new Korean presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, at around 1:20 p.m. and was welcomed by Yoon at the entrance.

The two entered the building on a red carpet, and Biden wrote in the guest book, "Thank you for the hospitality and the Alliance."

The talks began with a small group meeting that focused on North Korea issues and alliance matters. The two leaders held brief one-on-one talks and then were joined by their aides — to discuss economic security and supply chain risks — for an expanded meeting. The talks lasted 110 minutes.

At the beginning of their talks on the fifth floor of the presidential office, Yoon said to Biden, "Today we're living in the era of economic security, where economy is security and vice versa. The transformation of the international trade order and the disruption of global supply chains are having a direct impact on the livelihood of our people."

"We will continue our cooperation in strategic industries, such as microchips and EV [electric vehicle] batteries, in order to expand mutual investment and to attain our common goal, which is building a resilient supply chain," he continued.

"For decades, our alliance has been a linchpin for regional peace and growth and prosperity," Biden said.

"And it's been vital to deterring attacks from the DPRK. And, today, our cooperation is essential to preserve the stability on the global stage as well. With this visit, we're taking the cooperation between our two countries to new heights."

The leaders then held a press conference at the presidential office around 4:20 p.m.

Biden pointed to the advantages of an economic partnership with the United States.

"Just yesterday, an independent analysis projected that the American economy is poised to grow at a faster rate than China, the Chinese economy, for the first time in 45 years, since 1976," said Biden. "And our relationship with our allies, including I'm proud to say the Republic of Korea, are closer than they've ever been, and our people are growing even closer as we speak.

"Our businesses are blazing new trails together, and it all goes to my core belief, something I've said for a long time: It's never a good bet to bet against the United States of America."

During the press conference, Yoon said that he and Biden “shared the goal of developing the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance into a global comprehensive strategic alliance and discussed actions to that end."

He likewise noted that "strong deterrence against North Korea is paramount," adding the two sides affirmed their "ironclad substantive deterrence."

Biden thanked Korean for its strong support for Ukraine and added that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine "isn't just a matter for Europe" but "an attack on democracy and the core international principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Yoon and Biden noted that the bilateral alliance has "matured into a deep and comprehensive strategic relationship" in their joint statement and focused on economic and investment links and the shared commitment to democracy, human rights and the rules-based international order.

The two leaders reiterated their "common goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and agreed to strengthen their "airtight coordination" on this issue. They said the North's nuclear program "presents a grave threat not only to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also the rest of Asia and the world."

They "condemned" the North's escalatory ballistic missile tests this year, including multiple intercontinental ballistic (ICBM) missile launches.

The two leaders stressed that "the path to dialogue remains open toward peaceful and diplomatic resolution" with North Korea, calling on Pyongyang to return to negotiations.

Yoon outlined his vision to normalize inter-Korean relations through an "audacious plan" aimed at a denuclearized and prosperous Korean Peninsula, and Biden in turn expressed his support for inter-Korean cooperation.

The two presidents renewed their commitment to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable North Koreans and said Seoul and Washington are willing to work with the international community to provide assistance to Pyongyang to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. They expressed concern over the recent coronavirus outbreak in North Korea.

Biden said that the United States has offered Covid-19 vaccines to North Korea.

"We've offered vaccines, not only to North Korea, but to China as well, and we're prepared to do that immediately,” Biden said during the press conference. "We've gotten no response."

On whether he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Biden replied it will "depend on whether he is sincere and whether he was serious."

Their joint statement also underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan for responding to North Korea challenges, and "protecting shared security and prosperity, upholding common values, and bolstering the rules-based international order."

The two leaders further committed to cooperation on critical technologies, energy security, global health and climate change.

They discussed the "importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as an essential element in security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," in their statement.

Yoon and Biden also discussed South Korea's participation in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), set to be established during Biden's visit to Japan next Monday.

"Both leaders agree to work together to develop a comprehensive IPEF that will deepen economic engagement on priority issues, including the digital economy, resilient supply chains, clean energy, and other priorities geared toward promoting sustainable economic growth," the statement said.

The IPEF, a comprehensive economic framework for the region proposed by the United States last October, is viewed as a means for members to "decouple" from the Chinese market by finding alternative supply chains.

Seoul officials stress that the IPEF is not meant to exclude any particular country.

The presidents agreed to direct their National Security Councils to launch an economic security dialogue “aimed to align the bureaucratic and policy approaches between the two governments.”

The two also recognized the potential for cooperation in the defense industry and agreed to strengthen partnerships in the defense sector supply chains, joint development and manufacturing.

Later Saturday evening, Yoon host an official dinner banquet at the National Museum of Korea, near the presidential office, attended by some 80 government officials, business leaders and other dignitaries.

Yoon’s wife, first lady Kim Keon-hee, briefly greeted Biden ahead of the official dinner at the museum. She did not attend the dinner as U.S. first lady Jill Biden didn’t visit.

Biden arrived for a three-day official visit to Korea Friday afternoon on Air Force One at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, and was welcomed by Seoul's Foreign Minister Park Jin.

On Friday evening, he made a trip to the Samsung Electronics chip complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi. Yoon joined him at the complex, and they were guided by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

On Sunday, Yoon and Biden are scheduled to visit the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek. They will offer words of encouragement to South Korean and U.S. service members.

Biden will depart for Japan later Sunday afternoon.

The summit comes just 11 days after Yoon's inauguration, the quickest time for a new Korean president to meet with a U.S. president. It is also rare that the first Korea-U.S. summit of a new administration is taking place in Korea rather than in the United States.

Seoul is Biden's first stop in Asia since he took office in January 2021.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, and U.S. President Joe Biden toast guests at the official dinner banquet at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Saturday, attended by government officials and business leaders. [NEWS1]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]