Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their countries’ decades-old alliance needed to grow not only to deal with North Korean threats, but also to keep the Indo-Pacific region “free and open” and protect global supply chains.
The two leaders are meeting Soul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean president’s inauguration 11 days ago. The friendly meeting between allies is clouded by intelligence showing that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready to carry out nuclear or missile tests.
Mr. Yoon had asked for more assurances that the United States would strengthen its deterrence against North Korean threats. In a joint statement, Mr. Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to defending South Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary.
The two sides agreed to consider expanding their combined military exercises, which had been scaled back in recent years in a bid to lower tensions with the North, the statement said.
The United States has also promised to deploy “strategic assets” – which usually include long-range bombers, missile submarines or aircraft carriers – if necessary to deter North Korea.
Mr Biden told a joint press conference after their meeting that he would be ready to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he seemed interested in serious talks. He said Washington had offered COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea and China.
Yoon has also offered help to North Korea to fight its first recognized outbreak of COVID-19, but so far Pyongyang has not responded.
On Saturday, North Korea reported more than 200,000 new fever patients for a fifth straight day, but the country has few vaccines or modern treatments for the pandemic.
A GROWING ALLIANCE
The alliance between the United States and South Korea, which dates back to the Korean War of 1950-1953, must continue to grow to keep the Indo-Pacific “free and open”, Biden said.
He said the alliance was built on opposing forced border changes – an akin to Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s claims on Taiwan.
Developments in international trade and supply chains have given new impetus to the two countries to deepen their relationship, Yoon said, calling for cooperation on electric batteries and semiconductors.
Mr. Biden used his visit to praise the investments made in the United States by Korean companies, in particular the decision of the South Korean group Hyundai Motor to invest approximately 5.5 billion dollars to build its first manufacturing facilities of all-electric and battery-powered vehicles in the United States.
The two leaders visited a huge Samsung semiconductor factory on Friday, where Biden said countries like the United States and South Korea that “share values” needed to cooperate more to protect economic and national security. .
Mr. Yoon said that the concept of economic security will include cooperation in the event of shocks in the exchange market.
The South Korean president, eager to play a bigger role in regional issues, is expected to make his country one of the inaugural members of Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which will be announced during the trip to establish labor, environmental and supply chain standards.
But, given that China is South Korea’s largest trading partner, it is likely to strike a cautious tone in public on the issue of explicitly countering Beijing. He said on Friday that South Korea’s membership of IPEF should not conflict with the two countries’ economic ties.
Although White House officials have sought to downplay any explicit message of countering China, it was a theme of Biden’s trip that caught Beijing’s attention.
“Jake Sullivan said Biden’s trip to Asia is not about confronting China,” Chinese envoy for Korean Affairs Liu Xiaoming said on Twitter, referring to Biden’s national security adviser.
“We hope the United States will walk the talk and work with countries in the region to promote Asia-Pacific solidarity and cooperation, instead of plotting division and confrontation.”