Yoon to make state visit to U.S. from April 24-29

Apr 25, 2023, 09:28 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee board the presidential plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on April 24, 2023, for his six-day trip to the United States. / Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Lee Wook-jae & Park Ji-eun

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that the Korea-U.S. alliance is the “most successful” one in history and an alliance “based on values.”

In an interview with The Washington Post ahead of his six-day trip to the United States, Yoon said, “The most important thing for this week is for it to be an opportunity for the people of both countries to properly recognize the historical significance of the alliance and its achievements.”

Yoon headed to Washington D.C. where he will hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday and deliver an address before a joint session of Congress on Thursday. It is drawing the most attention among the bilateral summits considering that it is the first state visit in 12 years by a South Korean head of state and that the alliance marks its 70th anniversary.

Regarding his political decision that improved Korea-Japan relations and put the Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance on track, Yoon said, “I cannot accept the notion that because of what happened 100 years ago, something is absolutely impossible and that they (Japanese) must kneel for forgiveness because of our history 100 years ago. And this is an issue that requires decision. In terms of persuasion, I believe I did my best.” He also said, “Europe has experienced several wars for the past 100 years and despite that, warring countries have found ways to cooperate for the future.”

Yoon also said South Korea’s security concerns were too urgent to postpone cooperation with Japan, through it would be hard to convince everyone.

On South Korea’s aid to Ukraine, Yoon said, “Ukraine is under an illegal invasion, so it is appropriate to provide a range of aid, but when it comes to how and what we will supply, we cannot but consider many direct and indirect relationships between our country and the warring countries.”

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