President Joe Biden welcomed South Korean President Yoon Sun Yeol to the White House on Wednesday as the United States sent nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea for the first time in 40 years to deter North Korean aggression.
Biden and Yoon meet amid concerns over aggressive actions by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un against his southern neighbor.
The US president emphasized the close friendship with South Korea.
“We celebrate the rock solid alliance, the shared vision for our future and the deep friendship with the United States, the Republic of Korea and the United States,” Biden said in his welcome address.
Provocative actions by North Korea, China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and the recent leak of classified documents from the Pentagon will be at the top of the agenda when the two leaders meet in the Oval Office.
“I think our partnership is ready to meet any challenge,” Biden said in the Oval Office.
But the two leaders began their day on a grand note with a formal welcome and military assessment on the South Lawn of the White House.
In his remarks, Yoon paid tribute to the 70-year alliance between the two nations and thanked the US for fighting in the Korean War: “Our alliance was forged in blood as a fight for freedom. It is not a transactional alliance. It is an alliance of values to ensure freedom. It is a global alliance for freedom, peace and prosperity.’
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee to the White House
The state visit – the second of the Biden administration – came the day after President Biden formally announced he was seeking another term. And while welcoming Yoon to the White House, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was in South Korea on a trade mission.
On a beautiful spring day, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden welcomed President Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee to the White House. The two couples shook hands and met each other’s official delegations.
After both leaders stood for the national anthem, President Biden and President Yoon inspected the waiting army before a traditional Fife and Drum band, dressed in traditional redcoats and white wigs, serenaded both heads of state.
More than 6,000 people gathered to hear the president welcome his South Korean counterpart. The presidential dais was flanked by VIPs, diplomats, military personnel, including a handful of veterans of the 1950-1953 Korean War, and other top US officials. They also included local schoolchildren waving American and Korean flags.
Girls from a New Jersey children’s choir opened the ceremony with a rendition of the traditional South Korean song “Arirang.”
The music, a two-time UNESCO cultural heritage site, is a traditional folk song that is still performed in North and South Korea. Written an estimated 600 years ago, it marks a rare symbol of unity between the two nations that are technically still at war.
As part of the visit, Biden and Yoon will announce the “Washington Declaration”: a new agreement to bolster expanded deterrence, a US policy that uses the full range of military capabilities to defend its allies.
That includes the deployment of a nuclear ballistic submarine, which is in response to nuclear threats from Pyongyang.
The Washington Declaration has been under discussion with the Korean government for months and in it we will reaffirm our commitment to make every effort to consult with [South Korea] in possible nuclear crises,” a senior government official told reporters during a briefing call on Tuesday.
Kim Jong-un has denounced the military alliance between Washington DC and Seoul, accusing the two countries of “aggressive” action and trying to start an all-out war.
President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol view the troops on the South Lawn of the White House
First lady Jill Biden and South Korea’s first lady Kim Keon Hee perform the national anthems
President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol meet in the Oval Office to discuss North Korean aggression and other issues
President Biden and President Yoon stand with the Washington Monument in their eyes
Troops from the US military branches were part of the welcoming ceremony
US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol listen to the national anthems
The deal is intended to calm South Korean fears of an attack from its neighbor. The agreement will see Washington and Seoul work more closely on nuclear response strategy if North Korea attacks the South.
However, control of nuclear weapons remains in the hands of the US and no nuclear weapons are deployed on South Korean shores.
The US and South Korea will also participate in joint military exercises.
In return, South Korea will reaffirm its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an agreement signed by several major nuclear and non-nuclear powers that have pledged their cooperation to curb the proliferation of nuclear technology.
Earlier this year, South Korean President Yoon spoke in response to Kim Jong-un’s nuclear tests about the possible development of his own set of nuclear weapons, which would be a violation of the treaty.
Yoon’s visit comes as Washington and Seoul celebrate 70 years of the US-South Korea alliance.
It began when President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden took Yoon and his wife Kim Keon-hee on a dimly lit tour of the Korean War Memorial Tuesday night.
The two couples met Judy Wade, the niece of Corporal Luther Story, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1951 for his valiant actions during the Korean War.
During the 1950 Battle of Yongsan, Story was credited with killing or wounding an estimated 100 enemy soldiers and kept members of his unit alive by throwing grenades at an enemy truckload of soldiers and an ammunition wagon.
When his company attempted to retreat, he was wounded and was last seen “firing every available weapon” to repel another attack, according to his Medal of Honor citation.
Story was considered missing for 73 years until modern technology was able to identify his remains.
Members of the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
President Biden and President Yoon inspect the troops
Soldiers walk on the south lawn
Girls from a New Jersey children’s choir opened the ceremony with a rendition of the traditional South Korean song “Arirang.”
The South Lawn had over 6,000 guests for the arrival ceremony
Children await the arrival of the president, waving American and South Korean flags
The couples also exchanged gifts.
The Bidens presented Yoon and Kim with a small table made by an American cabinetmaker from mahogany and historic White House wood, inspired by traditional Korean soban tables.
A brass plaque marking the state visited comes with the table, as does a vase filled with handmade paper hibiscus and rose flowers created by a Korean-American artist.
In addition, President Biden gave Yoon a shadow box filled with custom and vintage baseball memorabilia.
Dr. Biden gave Kim a necklace with a trio of blue sapphires designed by a Korean-American designer.
The visit will conclude with a state dinner on Wednesday evening.