South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US Vice President Joe Biden are holding their first summit in Seoul. Their talks will focus on boosting ties amid North Korean provocations, including threats of a nuclear or missile test.
Biden arrived in South Korea on Friday, the first leg of an Asian tour that includes Japan.
Biden’s first as president – aims to reassure allies of the U.S.’s commitment to the region and counter China’s growing influence.
Biden and Yoon will discuss North Korea, the Russia-Ukraine war, trade, technology, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior US official said.
The official said the two leaders are expected to strengthen the South Korea-US alliance and reaffirm their commitment to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
They will discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile program amid 16 weapons launches this year. US and South Korean officials say the North may test its seventh nuclear weapon during Biden’s six-day trip.
They will discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile program amid 16 weapons launches this year. US and South Korean officials say the North may test its seventh nuclear weapon during Biden’s six-day trip.
This is despite the North’s first COVID-19 outbreak, which infected 2 million and killed 66.
The US and South Korea have offered help, but North Korea has rejected them.
The US official said, “We’re very concerned about COVID.” We’re sensitive to the fact that they’re in a serious situation, and you’ve seen that we’re ready to work with the international community to help.
“We also want to make clear that the international community opposes their UN Security Council violations and destabilizing and threatening behavior,” he added.
Yoon and Biden will hold a joint press conference at 15:30 local time after their two-hour meeting (06:30 GMT).
Biden visited a Samsung semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Friday.
In his first remarks upon arrival, the US president called the alliance with South Korea a “linchpin” of peace and prosperity in the region. He said he hoped to take it to “even greater heights.”
Yoon, who accompanied Biden on the tour, hoped “the South Korea-US relationship will be reborn into an economic security alliance based on cutting-edge technology and supply chain”.
South Korea is expected to sign Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on Monday in Japan. The agreement sets supply chain, worker protection, decarbonization, and anti-corruption standards.
