South Korea, US working for ‘successful’ 1st summit between Yoon, Biden

SEOUL, April 25 (BNA) South Korea is working closely with an American advance team to prepare for a successful first summit between President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol and US President Joe Biden, officials said Monday.

Yun and Biden are expected to hold their first summit in Seoul from May 20-22 before the US president travels to Japan for the Quartet meeting. An advanced US team, including senior White House official Edgard Kagan, is currently in Seoul to coordinate the details.

A team of Yoon’s aides said in a statement about the outcome of their meeting that Yonhap reported a nine-day trip to Washington.

During the visit, the seven-member team, headed by Secretary of State Park Jin-nominated candidate, conducted extensive policy consultations with members of the US government, Congress and think tanks.

“Through our visit to the United States, we were able to underscore our country’s growing stature and capacity, as well as the United States’ changing expectations of our expanded regional and global role,” the delegation said.

“The US side evaluated South Korea as a true ‘essential ally’ and expressed its high expectations for cooperation with the new government and our expanded role as a ‘leading global nation’,” she added.

The delegation also said that the two sides agreed on the need to upgrade their military and security alliance to a comprehensive strategic alliance covering economic security, technology and regional and global cooperation, with special emphasis on making economic security cooperation a major focus of the alliance.

FKN