President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to conduct larger military drills and deploy additional American weaponry if necessary to prevent North Korea, while also expanding the alliance to address new regional and global threats.
Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their nations’ decades-old partnership needs to evolve not only to counter North Korean threats, but also to maintain the Indo-Pacific region ‘free and open’ and global supply networks safe.
The two leaders are meeting in Seoul for the first time since South Korea’s president was inaugurated 11 days ago. The amicable meeting of allies is marred by intelligence indicating that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ready to conduct nuclear or missile tests.
Yoon had sought additional assurances that the US will strengthen its deterrent against North Korean threats. Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if required in a joint statement.
According to the statement, the two sides agreed to reconsider extending their joint military exercises, which had been reduced in previous years in an effort to reduce tensions with the North.
To deter North Korea, the US also committed to deploy ‘strategic assets,’ which normally include long-range bomber planes, missile submarines, or aircraft carriers.
Following their discussion, Biden stated at a joint news conference that he would be happy to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he appeared interested in genuine talks. He said that the United States had offered COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea and China.
Yoon has also offered North Korea assistance in combating its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, but Pyongyang has yet to react.
On Saturday, North Korea reported more than 200,000 new fever patients for the fifth day in a row, but the country lacks vaccines and modern treatment for the pandemic.
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