Biden, officials said, will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts in each country: Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who is scheduled to take office on May 10, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In Tokyo, Biden will also join the leaders of Japan, Australia and India to meet the Quad partnership, which was revived at his initiative.
The trip is intended to “further deepen the ties between our governments, economies and people,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. “This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration’s rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to U.S. treaty alliances with the Republic of Korea and Japan.”
A spate of weapons tests by North Korea looms over the trip, which has worried US officials and demonstrated the lingering threats to the Hermit Kingdom. The country’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, vowed during a massive military parade this week to “strengthen and develop” its nuclear forces at the “highest possible” rate, offering a glimpse of his ambitions for the coming months.
The four-day trip to Asia comes at a critical juncture in Biden’s presidency as he seeks to keep the US and its allies united against Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine despite mounting civilian casualties and intensifying fighting. The conflict in Europe was a consuming issue in the president’s second year in office, during which the US provided billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and imposed a series of economic sanctions on Russia. Amid Russian attacks in Ukraine, Biden has stressed that he believes US alliances in the Indo-Pacific are key to maintaining a “rules-based order” around the world.
At the same time, the conflict has underscored the ongoing threats from historic enemies like Russia, even as Biden works to recalibrate American foreign policy toward Asia to counter China’s growing influence. Biden is the third consecutive US president to express a desire to turn to the region, but the trip, which comes 16 months into his presidency, comes later than most presidents have visited Asia. Biden’s journey has been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
White House officials insist they can focus on Asia while the world is consumed by the crisis in Ukraine. And officials say they have been pleasantly surprised by the willingness of US allies in Asia, including Japan and South Korea, to align themselves with an international sanctions regime aimed at wrecking Russia’s economy. Japan and South Korea have also diverted part of their natural gas supplies to Europe in order to wean themselves off from Russian energy imports.
Biden spoke to Yoon, a conservative former prosecutor, on the phone last month after he was named the winner of South Korea’s election to replace outgoing President Moon Jae In. During that call, the White House said at the time, the couple discussed the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and other global issues such as Covid-19 and climate change, among other things.
North Korea, which Biden called his biggest foreign policy challenge early in his presidency, has resumed provocative weapons tests ahead of Yoon’s inauguration. The Biden administration has attempted to resume diplomacy with Pyongyang but has received little response. Yoon, meanwhile, has vowed to harden South Korea’s stance on the North after Moon tried to cultivate diplomacy – including helping then-President Donald Trump set up a series of summits with Kim.
During Trump’s last visit to Seoul as president, he made a beeline for the demilitarized zone, where he shook hands with Kim and crossed the demarcation line into North Korea. Previous presidents have also paid visits to the highly fortified border area, but it was not clear whether Biden was planning a similar stop.
Biden has already had several interactions with Kishida this year after the prime minister took office last fall. More recently, both leaders attended emergency summits in Brussels, Belgium, in March, convened amid Russian attacks in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the four Quad executives held a phone call, during which they agreed to meet in person in Tokyo later in the year.
Biden’s visit to South Korea and Japan also comes as US officials closely monitor China’s actions related to the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration has repeatedly stressed that Beijing would face serious consequences if it supported the Kremlin’s efforts in Ukraine, and has strongly opposed Chinese efforts to help spread Russian propaganda and disinformation about the war.
The Asia trip comes days after Biden hosted leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington on May 12-13. Announcing this summit, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the meeting will “demonstrate the continued commitment of the United States.” ASEAN, in recognition of their central role in providing sustainable solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges, and commemorating 45 years of US-ASEAN relations.”