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| U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Washington D.C., Friday (local time). AP-Yonhap |
WASHINGTON/SEOUL ― South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed Friday on the importance of a stronger alliance between the nations, in their first-ever summit at the White House.
Moon said he and Biden has confirmed a “joint commitment” to the strengthening of the alliance and peace on the Korean Peninsula. He was speaking at the outset of an expanded summit session following one-one-one talks and a follow-up meeting joined by a few key aides.
He added South Korea will cooperate closely with the U.S. for the complete denuclearization of Korea and open a new era of partnerships on such global issues as overcoming COVID-19 and tackling climate change.
Biden said that the two countries are allies with a long history of shared sacrifice, referring to their joint fight against invading North Korea, assisted by Chinese troops, in the 1950-53 Korean War.
“And I also want to point out that our history of shared sacrifice and our cooperation is vital to maintain peace and stability” of the world, he said.
He expressed hope that bilateral relations will further develop.
The two plan to hold a joint press conference on the results of their discussions and issue a joint statement.
Biden may formally express his support for the 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement, called the Panmunjom Declaration, according to a Cheong Wa Dae official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. It remains uncertain whether the Singapore summit deal between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be included in the joint statement.
Moon is also seeking faster delivery of U.S.-made vaccines and technology transfer for local production. Among the options proposed is a bilateral vaccine swap deal.
The official raised the possibility of accords on scrapping the U.S.-set restrictions on South Korea’s ballistic missile development under the decades-old missile guidelines of the alliance and promoting nuclear energy cooperation, including the export of reactors together.
Cooperation in such high-tech industries is another key summit agenda item, with the Biden administration campaigning to address vulnerabilities in the supply chains, especially of semiconductors, large capacity batteries, biohealth and critical minerals.
South Korean firms maintain global prowess on the production of computer chips, drugs and electric vehicle batteries. (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap)
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