Biden offers message for Kim Jong Un as he wraps first leg of his Asia trip

The brief greeting reflects the Biden administration’s so far unsuccessful attempts to resume diplomacy with Pyongyang.  Outreach efforts in the North remained unanswered.  Instead, Kim has accelerated missile launches and may be preparing to conduct a seventh underground nuclear test.

Biden said, “Whatever North Korea does, we are ready for it. We have thought about how to respond to whatever they are doing. And so I am not worried.”

    

Before leaving, he was speaking with about 30,000 US service members stationed here as the final leg of his visit to South Korea.

    

Americans stationed on the Korean peninsula have long served as a sign of US military might in the region concerned about a nuclear-armed state in the north.  Increasingly, it also serves as a reminder of Western muscles in a region heavily influenced by China.

    

Biden oversaw a joint airspace control center where members of the US and South Korean military are working closely with each other to monitor airspace affected by North Korea’s extensive missile tests.

   

“Our alliance was built by the joint sacrifices of the Korean War and after several decades the DPRK has become a strong and prosperous DPRK,” Biden told the group, standing near a large screen showing images of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.  Biden, unlike his predecessors, chose not to visit the DMZ on his trip, as he wanted to see the US military at his base.

Thank you to all the American soldiers and your families here for what you are doing for our country and our allies.”  Later, he joins a group of military families for an ice cream feast.

Earlier in the day, the president met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Yusun in Seoul, where he highlighted the $11 billion opening of a new electric vehicle plant in Savannah, Georgia, with $5.5 billion from the Korean automaker.  New investment is included.

One of Biden’s primary goals for visiting Asia this week was to reaffirm his commitment to the two major alliances, as well as to explore ways to further expand cooperation.  He will leave South Korea for Japan later in the day, bringing with him a similarly reassuring message that America’s longtime ally in the Pacific can count on the United States as a reliable security and economic partner.

A day earlier, Biden and his South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Sok-yol, wrote in a joint statement that they were open to expanding joint military exercises, which Biden’s predecessor deemed too costly and provocative.  Biden said the cooperation between the two countries reflects “our willingness to face all threats together”.

    

A senior administration official said on Sunday that the purpose of the expanded military exercise would be to ensure “what is best to ensure military preparedness and to work together as much as possible.”  increased;  Practice

 

Mister President, your country’s democracy shows its power to give back to its people,” Biden told Lyon during a state dinner on Saturday night.  “We are proud to say, with me today, the general can also say that our armed forces have stood shoulder to shoulder on the peninsula for seven decades to maintain peace and achieve general prosperity.”

He may have sent a similar message to Japan, which hosts a large number of American service members and maintains a mutual defense treaty with the United States.  Increasing provocation by North Korea and China’s occupation of the region has caused deep concern in the country, which is looking to the United States to guarantee its security.

Before meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, Biden is expected to meet Emperor Naruhito at his Imperial Palace, who last took office.  Later, he will unveil a blueprint for an action plan for Asia, which is expected to receive widespread support from the authorities.  He will conclude his visit with a summit of the quartet – which includes the United States, Japan, India and Australia – which is widely seen as an attempt to counter China’s military and economic ambitions.

On his visit, Biden sought to connect a parallel set of economic and security issues that emerged in his discussions with leaders.  Its trade structure, which was seen as a small-scale alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that its predecessor had scrapped, led to a large-scale focus on flexible supply chains disconnected from Chinese parts.  There is hope – a message that it has sent to many countries.  Point in Seoul.

 He hopes to raise myriad other issues, including regional security, trade, the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war – on improving relations between the two countries he is visiting this week.  Relations between Japan and South Korea have deteriorated in recent years as a result of a combination of long historical discontent and recent trade actions.

    

“It is very important” that the United States, South Korea and Japan have “very close trilateral relations,” Biden told reporters in Seoul on Saturday.

    

He said that the current situation in the world, where authoritarian regimes like China and Russia are challenging democratic norms, the rest of the world is seeking to live together despite differences.

On his visit, Biden sought to connect a parallel set of economic and security issues that emerged in his discussions with leaders.  Its trade structure, which was seen as a small-scale alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that its predecessor had scrapped, led to a large-scale focus on flexible supply chains disconnected from Chinese parts.  There is hope – a message that it has sent to many countries.  Point in Seoul.

He hopes to raise myriad other issues, including regional security, trade, the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war – on improving relations between the two countries he is visiting this week.  Relations between Japan and South Korea have deteriorated in recent years as a result of a combination of long historical discontent and recent trade actions.