Moon meets Biden’s key officials, says ROKl-US alliance restored

Mar 19, 2021, 07:53 am

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in (C) poses for a commemorative photo along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd from L) as well as the foreign and defense ministers of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong (2nd from R) and Suh Wook, during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on March 18, 2021./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Lee Jang-won

President Moon Jae-in received on Thursday visiting U.S. secretaries of state and defense, marking his first face-to-face diplomacy involving top U.S. government officials under the Joe Biden administration, and announced the restoration of Seoul-Washington alliance. South Korea and the United States confirmed during the so-called ‘two plus two’ meeting that the denuclearization of North Korea tops the agenda for the two countries and decided to respond with a fully coordinated strategy toward North Korean issues. The two countries also initiated a recently concluded agreement on the sharing of the cost for the U.S. Forces Korea to highlight the close-knit alliance.

However, Washington’s emphasis of Beijing as a ‘threat’ and the fact that it asked Seoul’s government’s intention for cooperation towards China issues could impose a heavy burden on the South Korean government. Observers say that issues involving South Korea’s participation in the Quad – a strategic dialogue framework between the US, Japan, Australia and India aimed at containing China – as well as trilateral cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan are what the two countries would have to deal with in the future.

President Moon Jae-in met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the presidential office, where he discussed ways to strengthen the ROK-US alliance and cooperate on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This is Moon’s first meeting with top US officials since the launch of the Biden administration in January.

Above all, Moon said, “South Korea and the United States will jointly cope with mutual challenges as they are the partners of 70 years that share values and philosophies such as democracy and human rights.” The president stressed that Seoul and Washington will continue their watertight coordination for complete denuclearization and lasting peace of the Korean Peninsula.

The two countries held the ‘two plus two’ talks in Seoul that involved Seoul’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Defense Minister Suh Wook and their counterparts Blinken and Austin. After the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement where they stressed the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs as their priority and reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the matter. The two sides also vowed to closely coordinate on all issues related to the Korean Peninsula and agreed to maintain high-level consultations. The US top officials’ visit came just a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui criticized the US and South Korea. Attention is now on whether the South Korean government’s peace process initiative will make a breakthrough.

However, Washington’s direct criticism against China and North Korea is likely to make the South Korean government fall in deep thought. During a press conference held after the meeting, Blinken criticized both China and North Korea, saying that China has been consistently breaking its promises and North Korea has been committing abuses against its own people.

In particular, the ministers of the two countries had different positions on Seoul’s potential participation in Quad. While Chung said that there was no direct discussion about whether to join the Quad at Thursday’s talks, Blinken said that the U.S. is already working closely with the South on many issues being dealt with within the Quad framework.

#Moon Jae-in #Biden #Antony Blinken #Lloyd Austin