A BOARD AIR FORCE ONE, May 20 – President Joe Biden is likely to receive a warm welcome from South Korea’s leadership on his first trip to Asia, but he could be met with a less friendly welcome from North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Biden lands in South Korea on Friday night, where he will meet new President Yoon Suk-yeol, a relative newcomer to politics, in person for the first time. The two will tour a Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) factory together on Friday ahead of a full day of events on Saturday. Continue reading
“I think (Biden’s visit) will provide an opportunity for the Korea-US alliance to become stronger and more inclusive because many changes are happening in the international community,” Yoon told reporters outside his office on Friday.
Biden and Yoon could quickly move from formalities to a weighty issue with North Korea high on the agenda. Leader Kim Jong Un gave up a freeze on ICBM tests and appears poised to resume nuclear bomb testing, perhaps while Biden is in the region.
US cooperation with South Korea and Japan “will only intensify in the face of further provocations by North Korea,” Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters en route to South Korea when asked about the possibility of a weapons test.
“We are prepared for those eventualities,” Sullivan said. The United States has told allies and China that such a provocation during the US visit “would prompt adjustments in the way our military is deployed in the region,” he said.
Yoon has signaled he will take a harder line on North Korea than his predecessor and is expected to seek Biden’s help. Yoon has warned of a pre-emptive strike if there are signs of an impending attack and has pledged to bolster the South’s deterrence capability. Continue reading
North Korea revealed a COVID-19 outbreak last week but ignored calls for a return to diplomacy.
Washington has said it is always open to direct talks with Kim, but has not publicly offered any new ideas on how to persuade the country’s leaders to talk. Biden decided not to visit the heavily fortified demilitarized zone separating the South from North Korea.
Countering China’s presence in the region is a key Biden issue on the trip, but South Korea is likely to adopt a cautious public tone on the issue given Beijing is Seoul’s main trading partner.
South Korea is also expected to be among the founding members of Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), to be announced during the trip, to set labor, environmental and supply chain standards.
When asked about Beijing’s opposition to the IPEF, Yoon said joining the framework need not conflict with South Korea’s economic ties with China.
“There’s no need to see it as a zero-sum game,” he said.
Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) has been working on plans to build a new electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the United States, and an announcement could coincide with Biden’s visit. Continue reading
Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Joori Roh in Seoul; Edited by Heather Timmons and Cynthia Osterman