U.S. is well aware of Korea's concerns about IRA, says Harris

Diplomacy

Published: 29 Sep. 2022, 17:13 Updated: 29 Sep. 2022, 19:28

U.S. is well aware of Korea's concerns about IRA, says Harris

Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before talks at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Thursday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday discussed Seoul's worries about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and North Korea's latest missile launches.

In an 85-minute meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul, Yoon and Harris exchanged views on measures to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance, respond to North Korean threats and other matters of mutual interest, according to the presidential office

During the talks, Yoon raised Korea's concerns over the U.S. IRA, which doesn't allow tax credits for electric vehicles assembled outside North America.

Yoon said he "expects the two countries to work closely together to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement based on the spirit of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement," according to presidential deputy spokesman Lee Jae-myoung in a briefing later Thursday.

In response, Harris said that both she and U.S. President Joe Biden were "well aware" of Seoul's concerns about the IRA, according to Lee.

Yoon and Harris "expressed serious concerns about Pyongyang's recent ballistic missile launch and the enactment of its nuclear force policy," said Lee, referring to the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly's adoption of a new law allowing the use of pre-emptive nuclear strikes earlier this month.

Harris reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad" defense commitment to South Korea and noted that the two countries are in close consultation "to strengthen the combined defense posture, including extended deterrence."

On Thursday morning, Harris arrived in Seoul for a one-day trip on the heels of a visit to Tokyo to attend the state funeral for assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On the eve of Harris' visit to Seoul, North Korea launched two short-term ballistic missiles into the East Sea Wednesday evening, which also coincided with a joint exercise between the South Korean and U.S. navies involving the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier that ran from Monday to Thursday. This was the North's second short-range ballistic missile test in days, after conducting a similar launch on Sunday.

"For seven decades, the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been a linchpin of security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific and throughout the globe," said Harris to Yoon at the beginning of their meeting. "I am here to reinforce the strength of our alliance and strengthen our work together."

Yoon said to Harris, "The ROK-U.S. alliance is evolving beyond the Korean Peninsula to a global alliance and beyond a military alliance to an economic and technological alliance."

He noted that he met with Biden "several times in London and in New York" last week and "reaffirmed our common understanding about the future direction of our alliance."

During a week-long overseas trip last week, met Biden briefly at a fundraising event for fighting infectious diseases in New York, in lieu of a hoped-for second bilateral summit.

Yoon raised Korea's worries about the IRA with Biden during the 48-second conversation, and the U.S. president was said to have replied that he was well aware of them.

Yoon and Harris also referred to the Korean president's hot mic moment in New York. The presidential office has denied reports that Yoon made mention of Biden and the U.S. Congress in a private remark to aides at the fundraising event. It claims his foul language was directed at the Korean National Assembly.

During their talks, Harris said the United States "does not care at all" about the controversy, and that Biden said he had "deep trust" in Yoon and was satisfied with their meetings in London and New York last week, said spokesman Lee.

Harris pledged to "make an active effort to further develop the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a key pillar for regional peace and stability."

They also discussed cooperation in financial stability, space and climate change.

Harris extended an invitation to Yoon to visit the United States next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance and agreed to discuss further details through diplomatic channels.

Yoon and Harris had a separate meeting with fewer people which was an occasion to build a "strong personal bond and trust," added the presidential office.

The White House in a statement on the meeting said Harris and Yoon "discussed our shared work to address the climate crisis, including the historic investments made in clean energy under the Inflation Reduction Act" and that the vice president "underscored that she understood the ROK's concerns regarding the Act's tax incentives for electric vehicles, and they pledged to continue to consult as the law is implemented."

They also condemned the North's "provocative nuclear rhetoric and ballistic missile launches" and discussed a response to future provocations, including through trilateral cooperation with Japan. Harris also "reaffirmed the U.S. extended deterrence commitment" to South Korea, "which is underwritten by the full range of U.S. defense capabilities."

The White House said that Yoon and Harris "discussed China and Taiwan and the effort to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," which the vice president "underscored is an essential element of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Yoon's presidential office also said in a statement later that the two sides “reaffirmed the basic position that peace and stability are important in the Taiwan Strait.”

The last U.S. vice president to visit Korea was Mike Pence, who lead a delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018.

Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, visited Seoul earlier this year, leading a U.S. delegation that attended Yoon's inauguration ceremony on May 10.

Later that month, Biden visited Seoul for his first bilateral summit with Yoon on May 21, in which the two leaders agreed to revive their bilateral Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group and scale up combined military exercises.

On Tuesday, Harris met with Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Japan. Both were attending Abe's funeral.

In a visit to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan Wednesday, Harris said that Pyongyang's ballistic missile launch earlier that week was "part of its illicit weapons program, which threatens regional stability and violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions."

She said that "China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order" and has "flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors."

Harris continued, "We have witnessed disturbing behavior in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, and, most recently, provocations across the Taiwan Strait" and stressed that "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an essential feature of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

In Seoul on Thursday, Harris also met with "groundbreaking" female leaders in various industries to discuss gender equality at an event hosted by the U.S. Embassy.

Later in the afternoon, Harris visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, met service members, and received an operational briefing from U.S. commanders, according to the White House.

In a briefing in Washington Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Harris "will reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together, and will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the ROK's defense is ironclad."

On whether Pyongyang appears to have timed its latest missile test to coincide with Harris' visit to the DMZ, she replied, "North Korea can speak for itself on why."

Harris is the first U.S. female vice president and previously served as a district attorney of San Francisco and California attorney general.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, holds binoculars at a military observation post as she visits the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the truce village of Panmunjom at the inter-Korean border Thursday afternoon. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

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