The US and South Korea reached many important agreements

This is the first visit to Korea by the US President since taking office and also the first time when the new Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has just taken office to welcome the highest US leader. Therefore, the visit has had good results to promote relations between the two countries in the coming time.

Many important talks

The first summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden began at 1:32 pm (local time) on May 21 (local time) at President Yoon’s office in Yongsan District. Seoul).

This Korea-US summit includes small-scale talks, one-on-one talks between the two leaders, and extended talks, lasting a total of 90 minutes.

According to Korea Radio and Television Station (KBS), at the small-scale talk were the Chief of the National Security Office of the Republic of Korea Kim Sung-han, Foreign Minister Park Jin, and National Security Advisor. country White House Jake Sullivan, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific at the US State Department Daniel Kritenbrink.

Attending the expanded talks, the Korean side had 11 personnel such as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economy and Korean Minister of Planning and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, Foreign Minister Park Jin, Minister of Industry, Trade and Industry. resources Lee Chang-yang, Chief of the National Security Office Kim Sung-han and Mr. Cho Tae-yong, who was appointed as the Korean Ambassador to the US. The US side also has 11 people, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Advisor Sullivan, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink, Acting US Ambassador to Korea Christopher Del Corso.

The main issues discussed during the talks included security issues such as the North Korean nuclear and missile countermeasures, economic security cooperation as a “technological ally”, and regional cooperation. .

Focus on North Korea nuclear issue and economic cooperation

In a joint press conference after the summit, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden issued a Joint Statement on the results of the talks.

The leaders of the two countries said they shared the goal of developing the Korea-US alliance into a comprehensive global strategic alliance on the occasion of this summit; closely discussed specific implementation options such as cooperation options on North Korea, economic security issues, and global cooperation options. The two presidents considered the North Korean nuclear issue a serious threat to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the world.

The two leaders pledged to further strengthen the joint defense posture against North Korea and reaffirmed their determination to conditionally transfer wartime combat power to Seoul. The two presidents agreed to discuss expanding the scale and scope of joint military exercises on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas, taking into account the growing threat from Pyongyang.

Next, the two sides reiterated the US commitment to deploying strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in a timely manner and having prior discussions with Seoul in necessary situations, in the event that North Korea takes any action. for harming the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region; take new steps to strengthen deterrence.

The joint statement also agreed to restart the Expanded Deterrence Strategy Advisory Group (EDSCG) as soon as possible. This is a bilateral high-level discussion mechanism that has been discontinued since 2018.

The statement emphasized that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a common goal of the two countries, and agreed to strengthen close coordination to achieve this goal. The two presidents emphasized that the path of dialogue remains open to resolve the North Korean issue in a peaceful and diplomatic manner, and urged the two countries to return to negotiations.

In this joint statement, the two countries used the phrase “comprehensive denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” instead of the phrase “comprehensive, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization”. reverse” (CVID), which could incite North Korea. However, during the joint press conference, President Yoon made it clear by the phrase “complete denuclearization of North Korea”.

The joint statement on the same day did not mention past agreements with North Korea, such as the 2018 Panmunjom Joint Statement, the US-North Korea Joint Statement released after the first bilateral summit in Singapore together. five.

In the Joint Statement after the May 2021 Korea-US Summit, President Joe Biden and former President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed their belief that dialogue and diplomacy are based on inter-Korean commitments, the United States- Past North Korea, such as the Panmunjom Declaration, the US-North Korea Joint Statement in Singapore in 2018 was essential for complete denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In the field of economic security, the two countries agreed to strengthen coordination, establish a dialogue mechanism on economic security, to regularly exchange and cooperate in fields such as supply chain, public science and technology. high tech. The two sides agreed to strengthen public-private cooperation in order to protect and promote emerging and key technologies, such as high-tech semiconductor chips, environmentally friendly electric car batteries, artificial intelligence, etc. quantum technology, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, autonomous robots. In particular, the Korean leader officially announced his participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework initiative initiated by the US.

In addition, leaders of the two countries agreed to expand cooperation on atomic energy and build a resilient atomic energy supply chain. The two sides are committed to accelerating the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) and placing them around the world.

On emerging global issues, the two sides agreed to work more closely and actively cooperate with the international community to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war situation as soon as possible. The two sides also agreed to actively participate in efforts to deal with the epidemic Covid-19 of the international community, established a coordinating office for the Global Health Security Conference (GHS) in Seoul.

As such, there are many major issues that are agreed upon by the two sides, such as North Korea’s nuclear issue and South Korea’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework initiated by the US. These are important issues that lay the foundation for a new development phase in the relationship between the two water systems in the coming time.