korean state visit

Mobile Menu Overlay

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

FACT SHEET: Republic of Korea State Visit to the United   States

President Biden of the United States welcomed President Yoon of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on April 26, 2023, for a State Visit to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK Alliance. The two presidents reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to what has become a global alliance focused on deepening defense and security ties, expanding economic, commercial, and environmental cooperation, increasing digital and technology collaboration—including in the space sector—and broadening development assistance, educational exchanges, and people-to-people ties.  This fact sheet provides an overview of political understandings that were affirmed or reaffirmed during the State Visit, as well as plans for further cooperative activities between the United States and the ROK. DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY COOPERATION President Biden and President Yoon affirmed their strong, shared commitment to the defense of the people and territories of the United States and the ROK, including through deepening extended deterrence.

• Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG): The United States and the ROK launched an NCG to discuss how to plan for nuclear contingencies and cooperate on the Alliance’s approach to nuclear deterrence, given the growing threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The NCG will convene at the assistant secretary level.
• Strengthening the International Nonproliferation Regime: The United States and the ROK reaffirmed their enduring commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone for the international nonproliferation regime and the foundation for nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses.
• More Visible U.S. Strategic Asset Deployments: The United States committed to enhancing the deployment of U.S. strategic assets in and around the Korean Peninsula, in particular U.S. nuclear-capable platforms. The Alliance is also expanding the scope and scale of joint exercises and maintaining regular, senior-level defense engagements and dialogues to contend with regional threats.
• Closely Connecting ROK Capabilities with Combined Forces Command: The United States and the ROK are working to increase interconnectedness between the ROK’s new and improving strategic capabilities and the Alliance’s combined force structure to enhance joint planning and execution efforts. 
• ROK Education and Training on Nuclear Deterrence: To enhance ROK preparedness for nuclear threat scenarios, the United States welcomes participation by ROK military personnel in Department of Defense courses and trainings, which will focus on how the Alliance approaches nuclear deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, including through conventional-nuclear integration.  
• New Table-Top Exercise and Simulation:  As we improve our ability to plan for and respond to regional threats, the United States and the ROK have developed a new annual interagency and intergovernmental simulation and a separate table-top exercise with U.S. Strategic Command. These will augment similar activities already established in our bilateral engagements.
• Increasing Participation in Defense Exercises: To ensure force readiness and strengthen our joint force posture, the United States and the ROK are expanding field training exercises, including ULCHI FREEDOM SHIELD and WARRIOR SHIELD, to restore a realistic, theater-level combined exercise system. The ROK plans to join trilateral exercises with the United States and Japan as well as multilateral exercises.
• Enhancing Regional Cooperation on Maritime Security and Defense: Regional security cooperation is critical to achieving peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.  The United States and the ROK will use the Regional Cooperation Working Group (RCWG) to enhance lines of effort that increase maritime domain awareness and defense cooperation with other Indo-Pacific partners. 

ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION The United States and the ROK have forged enduring economic ties that reinforce every aspect of our Alliance, from mutual prosperity to commercial investment and from environmental cooperation to stronger cultural connections. President Biden and President Yoon affirmed that the United States and the ROK are committed to advancing economic, commercial, and environmental cooperation.

• Hyundai Motor Group’s $5.4 billion electric vehicle plant in Bryan, Georgia, is under construction and will create 8,100 jobs.
• SK Innovation is working with Ford to invest $11.4 billion on two electric battery parks under construction in Glendale, Kentucky, and Stanton, Tennessee, that will create 11,000 jobs. 
• Samsung Electronics semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor, Texas, is under construction and represents an investment of up to $25 billion. 
• Hanwha Q Cells is investing $2.5 billion on the expansion of its solar factories in Dalton, Georgia, which will create 3,000 jobs. 
• Netflix is investing $2.5 billion in Korean content.
• Broader Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF):  The United States and the ROK are working to advance IPEF and achieve high-standard commitments across all four Pillars. For its part, the ROK plans to host an IPEF negotiation round in Busan later this year.
• Expanded Supply Chain Security and Cooperation: The United States is deepening cooperation and engagement with the ROK on economic security measures, including through new working groups in the U.S.-ROK Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD). Through these efforts, the United States and the ROK are increasing cooperation on semiconductor incentive programs, research initiatives, and supply chain risks, as well as strengthening cooperation on export controls.
• Expanded Cooperation for Critical Minerals Supply Chains:  The ROK Government will make available $5.3 billion during the next five years to support ROK critical minerals and battery manufacturing investments in North America.  The United States and the ROK will pursue the establishment of a more resilient supply chain, including by playing leading roles in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). 
• Fast-tracking E2 Visas: The United States and the ROK are committed to facilitating timely business travel in support of significant ROK investments in the United States. To ensure a smooth process for ROK investors, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul worked with the ROK government and businesses to improve visa processing procedures, resulting in a significant reduction in E2 investment visa wait times from 87 to 5 days.
• Supporting International Efforts to Counter Russia: The ROK has joined the United States and the international coalition of over 30 countries holding Russia responsible for its war in Ukraine through the imposition of sanctions and export controls.
• Joint Efforts on Green Shipping: To accelerate the de-carbonization of the shipping sector, the two nations committed to sign a joint statement on ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals in the International Maritime Organization, support the establishment of the U.S.-ROK Green Shipping Corridor announced by the two countries at the COP27 in 2022, and broaden technological and information sharing cooperation, particularly on green shipping. 
• Enhancing Cooperation on Clean Energy and Decarbonization: The United States and ROK held a ministerial-level meeting under the Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) to identify priority areas for continued collaboration on economy-wide decarbonization. The EPD aims to advance policy and technical exchanges and reinforces the two nations’ commitment to advancing clean energy goals.

TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL, AND SPACE COOPERATION Our Alliance is equipped for the 21 st Century, and collaboration between the United States and the ROK has grown to include cybersecurity, critical and emerging technology, and space. We are augmenting our digital cooperation, including by improving collaboration on effective digital and telecommunications policy. We are also on a course to broaden our space cooperation across multiple sectors, including security and defense, commercial investment, and space exploration.

• New Cyber Strategic Framework: The two Presidents announced a new bilateral cybersecurity framework that institutionalizes cooperation on developing organizational culture to enhance the cybersecurity of national security networks, increasing defensive cybersecurity capabilities, and collaborating on cybersecurity capacity-building efforts.
• Launching a Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue: The United States and the ROK are launching a new interagency technology dialogue, convened annually and led by the two National Security Advisors, to expand partnership in such areas as biotechnology and biomanufacturing, batteries, semiconductors, and digital and quantum technologies.
• Expanding Cooperation in Biotechnology: The United States and the ROK are increasing biotechnology and biomanufacturing cooperation, including through an MOU between the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology that supports U.S. and ROK goals to enhance infrastructure development, workforce and talent capacity, and bioeconomy-related research and development.
• Cooperation in Space Science and Exploration: NASA and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) signed a joint statement of intent at the Goddard Space Flight Center to explore further cooperation in space science and exploration.  Additionally, NASA, MSIT, and participating agencies intend to conduct a joint study on potential areas of future cooperation to explore the Moon and Mars.
• Strengthening Space- and Cyber-Related Consultations: The United States and the ROK committed to strengthen space and cyber cooperation and improve interoperability through consultative bodies such as the Civil Space Dialogue (CSD), Space Security Dialogue (SSD), Space Cooperation Working Group (SCWG) and Cyber Cooperation Working Group (CCWG).
• Strengthening the Freedom Online Coalition: The ROK is joining the Freedom Online Coalition and U.S. efforts to further strengthen and expand this Coalition dedicated to support Internet freedom and protect human rights online.
• Partnering to Combat Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse: The United States and ROK continue to work together, alongside 10 other countries and a multi-stakeholder advisory group and steering committee, to prioritize, understand, prevent, and address the growing scourge of technology-facilitated gender-based violence through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. 

EXPANDING DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES President Biden and President Yoon highlighted the remarkable cultural connections between our two nations, and our increasing cooperative focus on development issues around the world.  They shared their intent to further strengthen our combined development work and to knit the American and Korean people even more closely together.

• Supporting Ukraine:  The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), in close coordination with USAID, plans to contribute to USAID’s Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) for Ukraine.  This is part of the ROK’s pledge of additional assistance of $130 million on top of its $100 million contribution last year.
• Enhancing Development Cooperation: On April 25, USAID and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a three-year MOU to support personnel exchanges to increase mutual understanding of development cooperation policy and implementation. USAID and KOICA committed to assist with marine litter monitoring systems in the Philippines, and cooperate on the Climate Resilient Cities program.  USAID will also establish a permanent presence at US Embassy Seoul in 2023 to enhance donor collaboration.
• Peace Corps-World Friends Korea MOU Supports Climate Adaption in the Indo-Pacific: Building on the example of Peace Corps volunteers who served in the education and health sectors in the ROK from 1966-1981, the ROK has developed its own overseas volunteering program, World Friends Korea. The organizations have signed an MOU to support climate adaptation and in-country volunteering initiatives with a focus on the Indo-Pacific.
• New Educational Exchange Initiative: The United States and the ROK committed to engage in a new, multi-year, $60 million educational exchange program in the fields of humanities and social sciences as well as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The program includes the largest-ever Fulbright graduate program focused on STEM research.
• Develop New Executive Training Program on Technology: The United States and the ROK committed to develop a new program focused on training the next generation of leaders to be informed, responsible stewards of critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, AI, quantum, and biotechnology. The program is intended for mid-career leaders in the public sector from the United States, ROK, India, United Kingdom, and Germany.
• Increasing Cultural and Language Exchanges: The two Presidents welcomed the renewal of an MOU that will increase the number of each countries’ annual participants in the Work, English Study, Travel program from 2,000 to 2,500.
• Deepening U.S.-ROK Health Cooperation:  The United States and the ROK have renewed an MOU to cooperate on cutting-edge cancer research and exchange information about the safe production of medical products with artificial intelligence. Expanding cooperation between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the ROK Ministry of Health and Welfare includes engagement on global health security, digital health, and universal health coverage.

Stay Connected

We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

The Best Photos of the Royal Family at the South Korean State Banquet

King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and more royals were in their finest at Buckingham Palace this evening.

The royal family were dressed to the nines in their finest tuxes, gowns, and tiaras this evening at Buckingham Palace to host a state banquet in honor of President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee of South Korea.

It's just the second state visit hosted by King Charles during his reign—the first was last November, welcoming South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa . State visits kick off with a state banquet, "a very grand formal occasion held in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom. Around 150 guests are usually invited on the basis of their cultural, diplomatic or economic links to the country being hosted."

For the evening, both Kate and Camilla wore spectacular tiaras—the Princess of Wales was in the Strathmore Rose tiara , which hasn't been seen in public for nearly a century, and the Queen was in the Burmese Ruby Tiara . Here, see all the best photos of the royal family attending the state banquet in honor of the 2023 South Korea state visit:

Queen Camilla, King Charles III, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee pose for a photograph.

It's the second state visit hosted by King Charles during his reign.

Queen Camilla wore the Burmese Ruby Tiara , which was created for Queen Elizabeth in 1973.

Kate debuted a new tiara , opting to wear the Strathmore Rose Tiara for the first time ever. The tiara was a favorite of the Queen Mother's, and hasn't been seen in nearly a century.

Kate wore a stunning Jenny Packham gown.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, re-wore the dress she wore to King Charles's coronation , along with her go-to aquamarine tiara.

Read more here

Members of South Korean girl band Blackpink—Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rosé—arrive for the State Banquet.

King Charles III led the procession in, walking with President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol.

Queen Camilla followed, walking in with the South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

The Princess of Wales walked in with Choo Kyung-ho, the Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea.

The Duchess of Gloucester was in attendance.

During his speech, the King spoke about BTS, Squid Game , and more .

A view of the guests inside the State Banquet.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma , a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram .

@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-transform:scale(-1, 1);-moz-transform:scale(-1, 1);-ms-transform:scale(-1, 1);transform:scale(-1, 1);background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-1jdielu:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}} Royal Family News @media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-128xfoy:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}}

Shop Meghan Markle's Favorite California Brands

Royal Couple Announces Divorce

Queen Maxima's Greatest Style Moments

Queen Letizia's Best Looks of All Time

Princess Diana's Belonging Are Heading to Auction

Why Did Andrew Say He Went to a Pizza Express?

All the Tiaras at the Dutch State Dinner

William Is Handed Get Well Cards for Kate

Prince Harry Offers Rare Peek Into His Cali Home

A Rare Interview with a Royal Aide

16 Royal-Loved Menswear Brands to Shop

Glitz, glamour and 'American Pie': Memorable moments from South Korean President Yoon's state visit

WASHINGTON – Any 70-year anniversary merits a big celebration.

And when you’re observing a decadeslong friendship between two nations, an ordinary fête just won’t do.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee to the White House for an official state visit on Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the two countries.

The bond between the United States and the Republic of Korea was formed at the end of the Korean War, a conflict that cost more than 54,000 American lives.

“It’s an unbreakable bond, forged in bravery and the sacrifice of our people,” Biden said during a pageantry-filled ceremony on the White House South Lawn.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Yoon said he traveled to Washington to celebrate “with pride, with joy – and with the American people.”

Here are some memorable moments from the South Korean leader’s visit:

A 21-gun salute and Korean tunes for ‘great friends’

State visits by foreign leaders always begin with pomp and circumstance.

On a crisp but sunny morning, the Bidens welcomed the South Korean leader and his spouse to the White House with a formal arrival ceremony in front of nearly 7,000 guests on the South Lawn.

A military band played “Hail to the Chief” as the Bidens walked out of the White House and stood on a red carpet. A few seconds later, a black SUV carrying the guests of honor pulled up the White House driveway.

There was a 21-gun salute, a formal inspection of the troops, and the playing of each country's national anthems. Young children from the Korean-American Children’s Choir in New Jersey performed a traditional South Korean song. A fife and drum corps decked out in long red coats and white pants paraded in front of the stage.

“What a beautiful day to invite great friends back to the White House,” Biden said, celebrating what he called “the ironclad alliance” between the two countries.

That alliance may have been “forged in blood,” Yoon said, speaking through an English translator, but it’s a “just” one that stands for “freedom, peace and prosperity around the world.”

'Embarrassing wrench':  How Pentagon leak complicates South Korean president's state visit with Biden

Honoring American sacrifices in the Korean War

The night before the state visit officially began, the Bidens and their South Korean guests made a quiet pilgrimage to the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial on the National Mall.

The memorial, not far from the Lincoln Memorial, commemorates the sacrifices of the 5.8 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed services during the three-year Korean War. Some 54,246 Americans were killed in the conflict.

The Bidens and their guests strolled quietly through the memorial, which features 7-foot stainless steel statues of soldiers standing in patches of juniper bushes and polished granite strips symbolizing the rice paddies of Korea. They made no public remarks, but Yoon spoke of the visit during the White House arrival ceremony the next day.

“Why did they sacrifice their lives for this faraway country and for the people they never met?” he asked of the Americans killed in the war. “That was for one noble cause: to defend freedom.”

Show of force: US-South Korea military drills begin after North Korea submarine missile tests

Gifts for the South Korean guests

When there’s a state visit, there are usually gifts.

The Bidens presented the South Koreans with a small, handcrafted table by an American furniture maker. Made of mahogany wood and inlaid with historical White House wood, the table was inspired by traditional Korean soban tables. The gift included a vase filled with handmade paper hibiscus and rose flowers by a Korean American artist and a brass plaque to commemorate the state visit.

Biden also gave Yoon a shadow box set with custom and vintage baseball memorabilia. Jill Biden presented Kim with a pendant necklace with a trio of blue sapphires designed by a Korean American designer.

Feting the French: Biden's first state dinner will honor French president. Here's what to know about the event

Nukes, cybersecurity and other serious business

Amid the glitz and the glamour, Biden and Yoon conducted serious business, with bilateral meetings at the White House between the two leaders and other top officials from their delegations.

Biden announced that he is increasing demonstrations of military might in the Indo-Pacific and expanding collaboration with South Korea in hopes of deterring an attack by North Korea. In exchange, Yoon reaffirmed his nation's commitment that it would not develop its own nuclear weapons.

The so-called Washington Declaration is the centerpiece of the new initiatives on cybersecurity, economic investments and more that the leaders rolled out during Yoon’s visit.

A State Dinner with South Korean flair

The main event for every state visit is the dinner, the most coveted diplomatic honor – and one reserved for the U.S.'s closest allies.

Naturally, this one had a decidedly Korean flair .

Some 200 invited guests walked by a screen evoking traditional Korean ink brush painting. Dining tables were decked out with 6-foot-tall centerpieces of blossoming cherry tree boughs intended to suggest Washington's Tidal Basin in the springtime or the streets of Jeju. The menu featured braised beef short ribs – an American take on galbi-jjim – served with butter bean grits, sorghum-glazed carrots and pine nuts.

At the start of the soirée, Biden and Yoon toasted each other. Biden raised a glass "to our partnership, to our people, to possibilities" and added, "May we do it together for another 170 years."

Yoon brought a smile to Biden's face by paying homage to his Irish roots. Speaking through an interpreter, Yoon quoted an old Irish saying that goes: "A good friend is like a four-leaf clover. Hard to find and lucky to have."

Record launch: North Korea has launched at least 84 missiles in 2022, more than in any other year

Broadway tunes and 'American Pie'

Broadway performers provided the evening’s entertainment, but Yoon stole the show with an impromptu rendition of “American Pie.”

Singers Lea Salonga, Jessica Vosk and Norm Lewis closed out the dinner with a selection of numbers from Broadway hit shows, including “Funny Girl” and “Les Misérables." For their encore, they chose the Don McLean classic “American Pie” especially for Yoon.

When they finished, Jill Biden pushed Yoon onto the stage. “We know this is one of your favorite songs,” Joe Biden said.

Yoon, still speaking through a translator, confirmed that the song was one of his favorites when he was in school. After a bit of coaxing from Biden, Yoon took the microphone and belted out the first few stanzas – in English. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Biden, who said he had no idea Yoon could sing, joked that he was going to tap the South Korean crooner to provide the entertainment for the next state dinner. Then, he surprised Yoon with another gift: A guitar signed by McLean.

Who scored a coveted dinner invitation?

The Bidens and the guests of honor weren’t the evening's only big names. Prominent figures from the world of politics, business and entertainment scored an invitation to the state dinner.

Actress Angelina Jolie, decked out in a white dress, brought her son Maddox. Broadway performer Salonga, one of the night’s entertainers, admitted to being nervous but said the experience “feels like being in a fairytale."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre twirled for the photographers as she made her entrance. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York showed up in a navy suit instead of the usual formal attire. "This is as tux-ey as I get," he said.

Snowboarder Chloe Kim, an Olympic gold medalist, didn’t wear her medal. “I don’t know where it is,” she admitted. She was nervous, she said, but was looking forward to the dinner. "The food's gonna be really good,” she predicted.

The dinner came a day after Biden announced his reelection bid, adding to the buzz around the dinner for his Democratic guests.

Michael Purzycki, the mayor of Biden's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, offered to assist with campaigning, "Any way he wants me to."

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS.

Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Joey Garrison and Francesca Chambers

'Let's finish the job': President Joe Biden announces much awaited 2024 reelection bid

All the glamour and gossip from inside Buckingham Palace’s lavish state banquet held in honour of the President and First Lady of South Korea

By Anya Ryan

The Princess of Wales wore the Strathmore Rose Tiara that once belonged to the Queen Mother for the very first time at the state banquet

The Princess of Wales enters alongside Choo Kyung-ho, the Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea

By Isaac Bickerstaff

By Harriet Johnston

The royal family donned their most exquisite finery on Tuesday night for the state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee of South Korea. King Charles and Queen Camilla, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales welcome the President and his wife to London with an official ceremonial welcome. For the banquet, they were joined by other senior royals including the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Edinburgh.

This is the first incoming state visit of King Charles’ reign. As is custom, it kicked off with the most lavish formal banquet, with around 170, carefully selected guests including K-pop stars Blackpink – made up of band members Jenni Kim, Jisoo Kim, Lisa Manobal and Rose Park – and Birmingham City footballer Cho So-hyun.

London was caught up in a frenzy of tributes to Korean culture and UK-South Korea friendship this week, with the soldiers, dignitaries and singers throwing themselves into the celebrations

By Isaac Zamet

Needless to say, Buckingham Palace looked its best for its esteemed guests. Under the chandelier, the ballroom table was set with the Grand Service – which is 4,000 pieces including dinner plates, dessert stands and candelabra made from silver and overlaid with gold ready for the banquet. Each place setting was laid with a folded napkin, in a ‘Dutch-bonnet style’, a side plate, two knives, two forks, a dessert spoon and fork and a butter knife. Guests were also given six glasses: a champagne toasting glass, one for water, two for wine, another for the dessert course and a port glass. The table was also decorated with cruets for condiments including mustard. More than 2,000 pieces of cutlery are needed for the meal to take place.

The Princess of Wales is a vision in a scarlet cape and statement hat ahead of the Buckingham Palace state banquet this evening

The South Korean president and his wife, First Lady Kim Keon-hee with the King and Queen

Guests feasted on a menu including warm tartlet of soft poached egg and spinach purée and mango ice cream bombe

Months of preparation, 2,000 pieces of cutlery and dozens of esteemed guests… Tatler reveals all that will go into King Charles III’s big night

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

Invitees were treated to a menu of a warm tartlet of soft poached egg and spinach puree, breast of Windsor pheasant with croquette of celeriac and calvados sauce and salad, with a mango ice cream bombe for dessert. And there were subtle changes for this first State Banquet since King Charles’ coronation. The EIIR cypher that was set on the glasses and plates for the 70 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign were replaced with CIIIR for her son. As is usual, Buckingham Palace was dressed to impress with flowers, which included dug up ferns which had been artfully repotted, to go in line with King Charles’ request for prioritising sustainability. The fresh flowers, collected together in centrepieces from the Grand Service depicted figures of Pan playing a pipe, were in hues of red, purple and blue.

Queen Camilla also ensured that any flowers that are used at the palace for entertaining to afterwards be donated to one of her charities, Floral Angels, who break them down into posies to be delivered to hospices, care homes and shelters across London.

But the presence of King Charles’ late mother was still felt, with her son talking of the Queen’s visit to South Korea in 1999: ‘She was struck on her state visit to Korea in 1999 not just by the incredibly warm welcome she received across your country, but also by the beauty and harmony of the traditional villages and temples of Andong, amongst your country’s majestic mountains,’ he said in a speech.

King Charles addresses the room at the State Banquet held for the President and First Lady of South Korea

Queen Camilla wore a red velvet gown

The King began his speech with a line from Korean poetry: ‘Yeong-gug-e osin geos-eul hwan-yeonghabnida [Welcome to Britain],’ But then, some surprises were in order: he admitted he didn’t have much ‘gangham style’ ; and mentioned K-pop stars Blackpink and BTS. However, there was no karaoke from Mr Yoon, who had previously sung American Pie during a visit to see the US President Joe Biden. Instead Mr Yoon, who is 62 years old, spoke of his youthful love of British music. ‘We were all fans of the Beatles, Queen and Elton John,’ he said.

Buckingham Palace was dressed to impress for its 170 guests

For the evening’s banquet, Queen Camilla opted for a red velvet gown, in the exact shade of the taegeuk symbol (which features on the flag of South Korea and represents balance in the universe) while the King wore white tie decorated with the Garter Star and Thistle Star along with a new Grand Order of the Mugunghwa, presented to him earlier that day by the president. The Queen finished her look with her late mother in law’s ruby and diamond Burmese tiara. The Princess of Wales wore a white Jenny Packham dress, earrings from the late Queen, Paula Rowan gloves and the Strathmore Rose Tiara that once belonged to the Queen Mother and has not been worn since.

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty arrive at Buckingham Palace for the state banquet

The Duchess of Gloucester walks with Ambassador Yoon Yeocheol as they attend the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace

Britain's newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron arrives for a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace; his wife Lady Cameron walks behind

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and South Korea's Deputy National Security Advisor Cho Taeyong arrive for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace

It was a fabulous end to the day in which the King, his heir and their wives had worked together to host the president and first lady in a private lunch, which was briefly disturbed by news of a rocket launched by North Korea . The visit seems to have gone very smoothly so far. Prince William was heard planning a second ‘date in the diary’ for them to meet again.

Tatler ’s Style Editor investigates the wardrobe of Akshata Murty – as she steps out in another sensational get-up in Tokyo

By Chandler Tregaskes

Guests started eating their food just before 9pm, and then at around 10pm they were invited to leave the table to mingle in the State Rooms. This section of the evening also involved a performance by a small ensemble from the Philharmonia Orchestra playing March from The Birds by Parry, Elgar’s Chanson de Matin and Fantasy on Arirang, based on a Korean folk song.

By Astrid Joss

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Biden to host April state visit for South Korean leader Yoon

President Joe Biden waves before boarding Air Force One at Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del., Sunday, March 5, 2023. Biden is traveling to Selma, Ala., to commemorate the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a landmark event of the civil rights movement. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, center left, and his wife Kim Keon Hee, center right, give three cheers during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/Pool Photo via AP)

• Copy Link copied

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will crank up the pomp and pageantry for South Korea’s president.

The White House on Tuesday announced its second state visit, an April 26 affair for President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

The occasion, which will include a splashy black-tie dinner honoring Yoon, stands apart from other visits by world leaders because of the associated pomp and pageantry that is orchestrated to celebrate ties between the United States and its closest allies.

The U.S. has been working to deepen its relationships across Asia as a counterbalance to China’s rising influence . Biden visited South Korea and Japan last year , and has prodded the pair of critical U.S. allies in a region that includes North Korea to mend relations with each other.

Yoon’s visit will celebrate 70 years of U.S.-South Korea relations, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who characterized the ties as “critical to advancing peace, stability and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world.”

The last time that a South Korean leader was granted a state visit, a high diplomatic honor reserved for America’s closest allies, was in October 2011, when Barack Obama was president and Biden was vice president.

Biden and his wife, Jill, next month will welcome Yoon and his wife to a pomp-filled arrival ceremony on the South Lawn featuring patriotic music and goodwill speeches. Biden and Yoon will then meet in the Oval Office before the leaders and their top aides sit down for broader talks on a range of global and regional issues.

Afterward, Yoon will be feted at a State Department luncheon, typically hosted by the vice president, before he returns to the White House for a fancy dinner with hundreds of guests and a multiple-course menu and entertainment curated by the U.S. first lady and her team.

Victor Cha, a senior vice president and the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a foreign policy think tank in Washington, said South Korea has always been strongly allied with the U.S. He said Yoon’s visit will also commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, which ended active fighting on the peninsula in July 1953.

One takeaway from Yoon’s visit is that South Korea is now “all in” and willing to work with the U.S., Japan, Australia, the European Union and others to counter challenges to the world order by Russia, China and North Korea, Cha said in an email.

He said Yoon “has shown himself to be fully in partnership” with Biden on strengthening supply chains, economic security, nonproliferation and other issues, along with being tough on North Korea and interested in improving relations with Japan.

“This is all significant because prior to Yoon, Korea was a bit adrift in its foreign policies — bad relations with Japan, cozying up to China and weak on North Korea,” Cha wrote.

Biden’s first state visit was for French President Emmanuel Macron in December. It was the first time that the White House had hosted a state visit since the coronavirus outbreak began in 2020.

Jill Biden went with a red-white-and-blue theme to honor Macron and his wife, Brigitte. More than 330 guests rode trolleys down the South Lawn driveway to an enormous heated pavilion where they were served an entree of butter-poached Maine lobster. An image of the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the U.S. from France, was projected onto the wall behind the head table.

Jon Batiste, a Grammy Award-winning New Orleans native, sang after dinner.

We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments. Exception: request blocked

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Biden to Host South Korean President for State Visit in April

The fact that President Yoon Suk Yeol received the second such invitation of the Biden presidency speaks to the degree of cooperation expected from him on issues involving North Korea and China.

By Katie Rogers

WASHINGTON — President Biden will host President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea for a state visit in April, an invitation that signals the country’s importance in the administration’s efforts to counter threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear program and China’s rise.

Mr. Yoon, who is scheduled to travel to Washington on April 26 with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, is only the second leader Mr. Biden has invited for a state visit, which comes complete with the regalia of a state dinner. The first state visit of the Biden administration was with President Emmanuel Macron of France , a trip that reaffirmed America’s oldest alliance.

For all of the tools at an American president’s disposal, a state visit — which usually consists of a daylong diplomatic obstacle course followed by a lavish dinner — allows the White House to celebrate ties with its closest allies using pageantry and tradition.

The fact that Mr. Yoon received the second invitation of the Biden presidency speaks to the degree of cooperation Mr. Biden expects on issues involving North Korea and China. The president traveled to Seoul shortly after Mr. Yoon’s inauguration last year in a visit that the White House said was meant to assure Mr. Yoon that the United States was committed to countering North Korean military threats.

During that visit, the leaders agreed to reinstate joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, a decades-long show of cooperation that was suspended during the Trump administration. (Former President Donald J. Trump said the drills were too costly .)

A conservative former prosecutor, Mr. Yoon, 62, was narrowly elected to the presidency last March. He has been openly critical of his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who arranged high-stakes summits between Mr. Trump and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.

“I will pursue predictability, and South Korea will take a more clear position with respect to U.S.-China relations,” he said in an interview with The New York Times last September.

South Korea has also stepped up its military arms production as the United States and other nations find their stockpiles depleted from assisting Ukraine during the yearlong Russian invasion.

The U.S.-South Korea partnership goes beyond military strategy. Seoul has invested billions in American clean-energy and chip-manufacturing efforts, including a $22 billion investment announced by the SK Group conglomerate in July.

And after Mr. Yoon’s election, South Korea joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a 14-nation collective seen as a bulwark against China in the race to secure global supply chains. Mr. Yoon also agreed to attend preliminary talks for a technology alliance known as “Chip 4” with the United States, Japan and Taiwan.

In a statement, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said that the visit would “highlight the importance and enduring strength of the ironclad U.S.-ROK alliance as well as the United States’ unwavering commitment to the ROK,” using shorthand for South Korea. “The presidents will discuss our shared resolve to deepen and broaden our political, economic, security and people-to-people ties.”

Mr. Biden and Mr. Yoon have met several times in recent months. In November, when Mr. Biden was on a swing through Cambodia and Indonesia , he met with Mr. Yoon in Phnom Penh, promising “the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional and missile defense capabilities” to deter North Korean threats, according to a White House readout. In September, the two met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, again promising to assure close cooperation in countering North Korea.

Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent, covering life in the Biden administration, Washington culture and domestic policy. She joined The Times in 2014. More about Katie Rogers

Watch CBS News

Biden to host 2nd state visit, welcoming South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol to White House

March 7, 2023 / 11:15 AM EST / CBS/AP

Washington — President Biden will host the second state visit of his administration, for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the White House announced on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the April 26 visit, which will include a fancy state dinner, will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the United States and South Korea, ties she said are "critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world."

Yoon will be joined by first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The U.S. has been trying to strengthen its relationships in Asia as a counterbalance to China's rising influence. Mr. Biden visited South Korea and Japan last year, and he's prodded the pair of critical U.S. allies to mend relations with each other.

The impasse stems from the history of Japanese colonialism on the Korean peninsula, and Yoon recently announced a plan to resolve longstanding disputes over compensation for slave labor.

Mr. Biden said he was encouraged by the development, saying "our countries are stronger — and the world is safer and more prosperous — when we stand together."

Mr. Biden's first state visit was for French President Emmanuel Macron in December.

• South Korea
• Karine Jean-Pierre
• Emmanuel Macron

More from CBS News

Biden signs foreign aid bill, clearing the way for new weapons for Ukraine

House speaker calls for Columbia president's resignation amid protests

In Trump immunity case, Supreme Court seems open to some protection

Divided Supreme Court wrestles with dispute over Idaho abortion ban

Programs submenu

Regions submenu, topics submenu, the african union ai continental strategy: examining the african ai landscape, the belt and road initiative at 10: challenges and opportunities, the future of the indo-pacific with the coast guard commandant, breaking bad: south korea's nuclear option.

• Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy
• Aerospace Security Project
• Africa Program
• Americas Program
• Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy
• Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
• Asia Program
• Australia Chair
• Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy
• Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy
• Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies
• China Power Project
• Chinese Business and Economics
• Defending Democratic Institutions
• Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group
• Defense 360
• Defense Budget Analysis
• Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project
• Economics Program
• Emeritus Chair in Strategy
• Energy Security and Climate Change Program
• Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program
• Freeman Chair in China Studies
• Futures Lab
• Geoeconomic Council of Advisers
• Global Food and Water Security Program
• Global Health Policy Center
• Hess Center for New Frontiers
• Human Rights Initiative
• Humanitarian Agenda
• Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program
• International Security Program
• Japan Chair
• Kissinger Chair
• Korea Chair
• Langone Chair in American Leadership
• Middle East Program
• Missile Defense Project
• Project on Critical Minerals Security
• Project on Fragility and Mobility
• Project on Nuclear Issues
• Project on Prosperity and Development
• Project on Trade and Technology
• Renewing American Innovation Project
• Scholl Chair in International Business
• Smart Women, Smart Power
• Southeast Asia Program
• Stephenson Ocean Security Project
• Strategic Technologies Program
• Transnational Threats Project
• Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies
• All Regions
• Australia, New Zealand & Pacific
• Middle East
• Russia and Eurasia
• American Innovation
• Civic Education
• Climate Change
• Cybersecurity
• Defense Budget and Acquisition
• Defense and Security
• Energy and Sustainability
• Food Security
• Gender and International Security
• Geopolitics
• Global Health
• Human Rights
• Humanitarian Assistance
• Intelligence
• International Development
• Maritime Issues and Oceans
• Missile Defense
• Nuclear Issues
• Transnational Threats
• Water Security

Press Briefing: Previewing ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol’s State Visit

Photo: Jung Yeon-Je - Pool/Getty Images

Transcript — April 19, 2023

Available Downloads

• Download the Transcript 270kb

Paige Montfort: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. As our operator introduced, my name is Paige Montfort. I’m the media relations manager here at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Thanks so much for joining us bright and early today to preview the upcoming state visit of Korea’s president to the United States.

I’m joined by some really terrific expert colleagues today whom I’ll introduce in just a moment. They’re going to provide their insights and analysis, and weigh in on the expected agenda and the context around this visit as well, and U.S.-ROK relations more broadly.

So, as always, we will have time for Q&A following my colleagues’ remarks. And then we’ll, of course, have a transcript available and out to all of you within just a few hours of this call. It’ll be available on CSIS.org and emailed directly to those who have RSVPed.

And now, without further ado, I’ll introduce my colleagues in the order in which they’ll be speaking today.

So Dr. Victor Cha will start us out. Dr. Cha is our senior vice president for Asia. He also holds the Korea Chair at CSIS.

And he will be followed by Dr. Ellen Kim, who is deputy director of the CSIS Korea Chair as well as senior fellow.

And next up we will hear from Nicholas Szechenyi. He’s a senior fellow with our Japan Chair and deputy director for Asia here at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

And last but not least, we are also joined by Gregory C. Allen, the director of CSIS’s new Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies and a senior fellow in our Strategic Technologies Program.

And so we have a lot of ground to cover today. I want to turn it directly over to Dr. Victor Cha to start us off.

Victor Cha: Well, thank you, Paige. And thank you all for joining in this morning. And of course, thanks to Ellen, Nick, and Greg for also being willing to participate in this morning’s press briefing.

So we’re here to talk about President Yoon’s state visit to Washington, D.C., next week. This is – I believe it’s the fourth in-person meeting of the two leaders. That comes just shy of the one-year anniversary of President Yoon’s time in office. The first meeting took place very soon, less than two weeks after President Yoon took office last year, when President Biden went to South Korea. Their second meeting, I believe, was on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Spain. Their third meeting was on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this past – in September. And then their fourth meeting was in the – in the context of the multilateral meetings in Phnom Penh, where we had a trilateral statement amongst the U.S., Japan and South Korea. So – oh, so, actually, this makes it the fifth – sorry – the fifth meeting. My math is not good this morning. That makes this the fifth meeting.

As you all know, this is a state visit. So he will get the full – the full nine yards, beginning with the South Lawn ceremony at the beginning of the White House day, obviously lots of meetings with the president and with Cabinet officials, a state dinner that evening. CSIS is actually also hosting a private roundtable at Blair House on the 26th in the afternoon. He’ll have lunch with the vice president, hosted by the vice president and secretary of state. Joint session speech at Congress. U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So a very, very full packed schedule.

You know, they’ll discuss all the issues, which I’ll talk about in a minute, but I think sort of the bigger themes that they are trying to put forward for the conference are around three things. One of them is the focus on freedom and democracy, because both presidents pursue a values-based foreign policy. And President Yoon in particular, unlike previous presidents, really has emphasized freedom and democracy as a core theme of his foreign policy. The second is a focus on new frontiers in alliance – in the alliance, particularly in the areas of science and technology, as areas where the U.S. and South Korea can cooperate together, not just for their benefit – for the two allies’ benefits, but more generally for the benefit of the world. And I think there are elements of the visit that will feature that.

And then the third, I think, area will be also about the future. And it will focus on culture and the next generation. As many of you know, Korean pop culture is quite popular here in the United States among younger generations, as well as around the world. And so I think this cultural element, which fits very nicely with the theme of common values, is something that we’ll see – we’ll see expressed during the visit. And it will be in some of these other side pieces. So President Yoon will also go to NASA to do a site visit.

He will have a meeting with the head – a meeting arranged by the Motion Pictures Association of America with CEOs of Disney, Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, again, focusing on the sort of culture side of the – of the relationship. NBC, Discovery, Warner Brothers, like, a meeting with all them. He will also go up to – after his stay in D.C., he will go up to Boston. He’ll be able to go to MIT for science and tech stuff, and then he will give a speech at Harvard University, which I imagine will focus on freedom and democracy. So quite a full schedule of events.

The two presidents have a good rapport and chemistry, is my understanding, based on the meetings they’ve had on the issues they’ve worked together. This summit comes at a time of great turmoil in the international environment, as we’re all aware. The war in Europe impacts not just those in Europe, but it impacts countries like Korea and Japan in Asia. And so I’m sure that this will be a big topic of discussion. The situation in the Taiwan Strait and China’s assertiveness in the East China, South China, and Yellow Seas will also be the context for this visit. And of course, North Korea’s missile rampage that they’ve been on for over – for the past year, going on – coming up on a year and a half, presents a context for this summit in which there will be a lot of focus on the role that the United States and its allies can play in addressing all of these problems.

In terms of what I expect to see, I expect the two will emphasize, again, as I mentioned, values-based foreign policy focused on freedom and democracy and protecting the liberal international order. This, of course – 2023, of course, is the 70th anniversary of the alliance. I think that’s one of the reasons why the president is getting a state visit, and I’m sure the two will speak highly of this being it’s about the 70th anniversary of the armistice ending hostilities in the Korean War in July and the 70th anniversary of the alliance in October.

I believe that President Biden will congratulate Yoon on his Indo-Pacific strategy, which overlaps a lot with the U.S.-Indo-Pacific strategy, unlike the case of the previous South Korean administration, so that the change in foreign policy that the White House will acknowledge by congratulating Yoon on his Indo-Pacific strategy.

I think – and Nick can, certainly, speak to this – Biden will congratulate Yoon on the major turnaround that he has engineered in relations with Japan and place a strong emphasis on trilateral alliance relations among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo on everything from Taiwan to supply chains.

I expect that there will be some announcements of some new things on extended deterrence. The details, obviously, are not being released publicly yet. But this has been a major issue between the two allies given North Korea’s continued provocations and the United States is working every day – the DOD is working every day on trying to do new things to enhance extended deterrence.

I also expect that there will be some discussion and some announcements on economic security and supply chains. Again, this is a big change from the previous administration in South Korea where there was a little bit of ambivalence about joining the Biden administration’s efforts on securing supply chains through things like the CHIPS and Science Act and export controls as well as the Mineral Security Partnership. All of these things are things in which South Korea under President Yoon is now participating in.

On North Korea, again, Ellen can speak to this more. I expect unity on North Korea, calls for denuclearization. But I don’t expect any new initiatives in terms of diplomacy. North Korea doesn’t seem to be interested in diplomacy right now but I think we will certainly see a unity of purpose and mission from the two presidents on that.

And as I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, I expect a big piece of the summit deliverables to focus on next-generation work of the alliance. In particular, there are many South Korean students that come to the United States. I mean, South Korea is the third largest source of foreign students coming to the United States for education behind China and India, which is actually astounding if you think about the relative size of Korea compared to China and India.

But there’s not as many Americans that are going to South Korea and so I expect that there will be some initiative or something of that sort announced with regard to encouraging more Americans to go to South Korea. Of course, there’s the Fulbright program. There’s things like that. But I expect there to be some sort of initiative.

And, finally, I think the two will have – you know, there are elements of every summit where there’s what’s talked about publicly – talked about privately and then released publicly and then there’s what’s talked about privately and not released publicly and so I think on China there will be a very deep discussion on China but I don’t think any of it will be very public.

South Korea has now adopted language on defense of Taiwan in joint statements with the Biden administration that are similar to those that are in the U.S.-Japan joint statements and that’s significant because Japan takes publicly a much more committed position in terms of defense of Taiwan than South Korea has traditionally.

So I expect to see that same sort of language reproduced in any sort of statement here. Again, I think deep discussion about China but aside from that I don’t think they’ll – I don’t expect them to announce anything new publicly with regard to that.

So that’s sort of it for the overview and the alliance. Let me now turn to my colleague, Dr. Ellen Kim, to talk about North Korea.

Ellen Kim: Thank you, Dr. Cha, and thank you all for joining today.

So on the state visit, I will just add that Washington is rolling out the red carpet for South Korean president to celebrate the 70th anniversary of U.S.-ROK alliance, but also because of the strategic importance of the alliance for the United States in addressing new rising challenges and growing uncertainties in the world today. And as Dr. Cha mentioned, for President Biden, President Yoon’s desire for South Korea to play a more active global role and its value-oriented diplomacy makes South Korea a very important strategic ally and ideal partner in tackling a number of issues and to preserve and uphold the liberal international order. So President Yoon’s state visit to Washington will be a very important opportunity for both countries to elevate and move forward the alliance into a global partnership and turn their strong alignment on a range of issues into more concrete actions into the future.

On the security front, North Korea will be the key agenda issue for both leaders, and I expect continuity and strong alignment in the North Korea policy. Both leaders will discuss the importance of diplomacy, but at the same time they will discuss ways to further enhance their deterrence capabilities against North Korea’s threats and provocations. This will include measures to strengthen and upgrade U.S. extended deterrence to South Korea, and also expand their security partnership in new areas like space and cybersecurity. We may expect to see a major announcement on cybersecurity cooperation between the two countries, which will involve joint cyber exercises and also enhanced information and intelligence sharing between the two countries.

The two leaders will also highlight the importance of the deepening trilateral security cooperation with Japan and through more regularized trilateral military exercises, closer policy cooperation and information sharing on – of North Korean missile data in real time, which has been already agreed at the trilateral summit last November. Recently, the U.S.-ROK-Japan had trilateral discussions on how to implement their intel sharing on the missile data. So I think that this may come up during the summit or potentially in the leadup to the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May.

On the regional security issues, I expect that both leaders will also show alignment and solidarity. As Dr. Cha mentioned, I don’t think that the leaders will talk publicly on China, but just reiterate their opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and emphasize peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and also in Ukraine.

President Biden and President Yoon will likely discuss the Ukraine situation, although President Yoon hinted yesterday that South Korea could send non-humanitarian aid to Ukraine under the certain circumstances like when there is a large-scale attack on civilians, massacres, or serious violations of the laws of war. I think it is too early to tell whether there is a shift in South Korea’s policy and that South Korea will send lethal weapons to Ukraine. But again, I think this shows that Russia’s war in Ukraine situation has direct implication for the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea and South Korea directly and indirectly supporting each side. And given increased cooperation between Russia and North Korea, South Korea finds itself increasingly difficult to avoid entrapment in Ukraine.

So with that, let me turn it over to my colleague, Nick Szechenyi.

Nicholas Szechenyi: Thanks, Ellen. And thank you all for joining us this morning.

I just want to talk briefly about Japan-Korea relations, which, as Dr. Cha noted, will probably be referenced by President Biden during the summit next week. And that’s to be expected, because the centerpiece of the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy is not only to strengthen bilateral alliances in the region but to network those alliance relationships among likeminded countries.

And when you consider the increasingly complex security environment in Northeast Asia, strengthening Japan-Korea relations, and by extension trilateral cooperation with the United States, is critical.

And the administration has also been consistent in encouraging Japan to do the same. Secretary of State Blinken also congratulated Japan for this step forward in the relationship with Korea when he met with Japan’s foreign minister this past weekend on the margins of the G-7 foreign ministers’ meeting.

President Yoon took a big step forward in March by announcing a solution to a dispute over wartime labor issues. That led to a meeting between Yoon and Kishida in Japan in mid-March, which really generated a lot of momentum for a new stage in the relationship. We’ve seen a resumption of security dialogue between the two governments. Japan has announced its intention to relax export controls which had been in place since 2019 due to tensions in the relationship with South Korea. The two governments are talking about a dialogue on economic security. And we’ve also seen robust exercises in coordination with the United States. And so ostensibly, the summit next week is going to be about U.S.-ROK relations. But I think it’s very much about connecting Korea to the community of like-minded countries, which are trying to shape dynamics in the region to underwrite security and prosperity.

As Dr. Cha mentioned, President Yoon unveiled an Indo-Pacific strategy, which dovetails nicely with what Japan and the U.S. and other partners in the region have articulated as priority. And so the summit next week is also really a springboard for connecting Korea to this broader web of alliance relationships in the region, whether we’re talking about security cooperation, economic security issues, as Dr. Cha mentioned, and interacting with other stakeholders in the region, including Southeast Asian countries and the Pacific Islands. So, this is really a chapter, I think, in Japan-ROK relations which could really lead to some dynamic coordination trilaterally but also with other countries. And Kishida is hosting the G-7 Summit in the middle of May in Hiroshima. President Yoon is expected to attend. There could be a trilateral meeting with President Biden on the margins of that summit. And that’s all very appropriate, because, as Dr. Cha mentioned, the summit next week is about shared values and interests, freedom, democracy, security, economic prosperity. And it’s natural to have Korea join a conversation with the G-7 about ways in which like-minded countries can maintain the international order. So very much a bilateral summit, but with huge strategic implications in terms of connecting Korea to Japan and other like-minded partners in the Indo Pacific.

So, with that, let me turn it over to Greg Allen, who will talk about semiconductors and cooperation on export controls.

Gregory C. Allen: Thanks, Nick.

The U.S.-Korea relationship, one of the challenges that it has to deal with is the wake of the October 7th, 2022 export controls that the United States Bureau of Industry and Security issued on advanced semiconductor technology exports to China. And specifically within the realm of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, China is decades behind the global state of the art. So, this was a major blow to China’s ambitions for semiconductor manufacturing. At the time of the October announcement, the controls were unilateral. However, U.S. allies, including Japan and the Netherlands, are also key producers of this equipment. And so the long-term success of the policy depended upon the United States securing Dutch and Japanese cooperation to control the types of semiconductor equipment that U.S. companies do not produce, and also to prevent Dutch and Japanese companies from backfilling the technology that the United States is no longer willing to sell to China.

So, in January 2023, the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan all had meetings at the White House, literally back to back. And then two months later, the Dutch and Japanese governments announced their intention to proceed with new export controls that broadly align to what the United States put out in October. And so Korea, along with Taiwan, are the sort of other two major players in this situation. Taiwan’s exports of semiconductors are covered by U.S. application of the Foreign Direct Product Rule, which essentially allows the United States to enact export control regulations that affect the behavior of key Taiwanese players.

So one of the issues that the Biden administration is going to want to talk about during this South Korean state visit is South Korea and the implications of this October 7th policy. That comes up in two critical dimensions, the first of which is South Korea is not as significant a player in the global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market as the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan. But it is still a significant player. About 5 percent of the global market of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is produced by South Korean companies. And they’re present in sort of key subsegments of this, including testing tools, deposition tools, etching tools, and resist processing tools.

And the most important aspect of all of this is just that even though South Korean companies are not as large, and generally not as technologically advanced as those in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands, they are vastly superior to the companies in China. Which, as I stated, generally are decades behind the state of the art. So now that China is cut off from access – from accessing U.S., Japanese, and Dutch technology, they are making overtures to South Korean companies and essentially, you know, trying to access South Korea’s technological capabilities. And, unsurprisingly, being willing to offer an extraordinary amount of money in order to do it.

The second aspect of the October 7th policy that is significant is that in cutting off access to these sort of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, that affects semiconductor production facilities located in China, including ones that are owned by South Korean companies. So the October 7th policy has a presumption of denial policy for exports of advanced equipment to Chinese-owned companies who are producing above a certain technological performance threshold. But for non-Chinese-owned facilities that are operating in China, those are being managed on a case-by-case basis.

And so Samsung and SK Hynix, which are two of the global leaders in the supply of memory chips, have major production facilities in China, some of which are operating above the technological performance threshold where the export controls kick in. And so shortly after the October 7th policy, these South Korean companies were granted one-year waivers, where they can continue to import the equipment, they can continue to import the spare parts that they need to maintain the equipment.

But the sort of long-term outcome for those facilities remains in doubt. In February 2023, Undersecretary of Commerce Alan Estevez stated actually at an event here at CSIS that BIS is working, you know, with those companies on a way forward and that there would likely be a cap on the level that they can grow to in China, either in size, or technological sophistication, or both. But those negotiations are ongoing, and those facilities represent tens of billions of dollars of investment. And so South Korea is looking for sort of a long-term answer on what’s going to happen to those facilities.

I should mention that the export controls that are hurting these South Korean companies with facilities operating in China, there are also Chinese export controls. So once you install semiconductor or manufacturing equipment, that does not mean that you can never move it. There is a vibrant resale market for used semiconductor manufacturing equipment. However, in the case of China, there are export controls that prevent you, once you have imported this equipment, from taking it out of China. So China doesn’t want those South Korean companies to move these very advanced production facilities, full of very advanced production equipment, out of China.

And so South Korea is caught between China, on the one hand, which is using export controls to prevent them from, you know, recouping that investment and relocating that investment, and the United States, which, potentially, is going to restrict their ability to get spare parts or to operate at certain levels of technological advancement. So this is sort of a major issue in the U.S.-China relationship and, obviously, it’s now having major reverberations in the U.S.-South Korea relationship.

And I’ll stop there. Thank you.

Ms. Montfort: Great. Well, thank you so much, Greg and Nick, Ellen, Dr. Cha, for your insights/analysis.

At this time, we will open it up to questions from those of you who have called in. So I’ll turn it back over to our operator to let you all know how to queue up if you would like to ask a question.

Operator: (Gives queuing instructions.)

And our first question comes from Patsy. Please pronounce your last name followed by your company. One moment. You’re open, Patsy.

Q: Sure. Yeah. Hi. Thanks. I’m Patsy Widakuswara with VOA.

I think somebody mentioned it – I think, perhaps, Ellen did mention this briefly – but if you can speak more on this latest reporting that South Korea might be willing to provide support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under large-scale civilian attack. If you can speak more about whether you see this as a shift, how likely is it to happen and whether or not it could be a reaction to the leaked Pentagon documents suggesting that they’re in a bind over U.S. request to arm Ukraine that’d be really helpful for me. Thank you.

Dr. Kim: Thank you, Patsy.

So on the spying issue, let me just say that in South Korea there are people who have some feelings of unease on this issue. But yesterday President Yoon stated that, quote, “South Korea and the United States are a resilient value-based alliance that can fully readjust even when there’s interests that are in conflict or when there’s trouble.”

So, based on that statement, I do not expect that this issue will be raised publicly when the two leaders meet. Even though, you know, there have been a number of ups and downs and difficult times in the U.S.-ROK alliances, the alliance has endured in the past 70 years. So I expect that this issue will not be highlighted, even though the two leaders could discuss privately.

On the Ukraine question, as I mentioned, that this statement by President Yoon actually came during his interview with Reuters and came out yesterday, suggesting that he might think about the – you know, South Korea giving more than what it is doing beyond just the humanitarian and financial control – and especially under the certain conditions, which is that when there is a – you know, a massacre or a large attack on civilians, or there’s, like, a violation of the law of the war.

But this came just now and we haven’t really seen the reaction within domestic South Korean politics. Obviously, the opposition party really opposes South Korea providing lethal weapons to Ukraine. So I don’t think that this is – I think this is just too early for us to examine and tell whether there is a shift. But I think that the Ukraine situation will be discussed between leader – two leaders, given the importance of this issue and the implication for Korea.

Q: And if I could just follow up, Ellen, do you think that the leaked documents could be one of the factors that, perhaps, is pushing the South Korean president to be more open to the idea at least publicly in his interview and just to gauge the reaction domestically, possibly?

Dr. Kim: Could you elaborate why the linkage – the document and the Ukraine situation?

Q: Yeah. I mean, I guess I’m just struggling – I’m trying to understand whether this leaked documents that is showing that South Korea is in a bind because the U.S. is expecting more from them in terms of assistance from Ukraine and then, you know, obviously a week later we have this interview with Reuters where the president is signaling that he is open. So I wonder if the two might be related, in your view.

Dr. Kim: I think it’s not really related. I think that South Korea takes the leaked document as a separate – I mean, the leaked document shows that South Korea has its concern, its dilemma, about what to do, given, you know, the request, not just from the United States and NATO, about South Korea providing more direct support to Ukraine. But I don’t think that this actually has to do with President Yoon saying that there could be more or that reflects that President Yoon also shares a dilemma about this.

Q: Thank you.

Dr. Cha: This is Victor, Patsy. Let me just say that I think the intelligence leak is linked to this in the sense that it’s causing people to draw President Yoon out more on this issue. And as the Reuters interview said, when you draw out President Yoon more on this issue, he clearly has a view on it, right, which is he’s open to the idea of going beyond non-humanitarian assistance under certain conditions.

That’s not something that any foreign minister or any other bureaucrat in the South Korean government system can say. But what these leaks have done is caused the press to push him more on this. And we’re hearing more and more about how he feels about the issue.

Now, of course, there is domestic law currently, legislation in Korea currently, that makes it impossible for them to send weapons directly to Ukraine, you know, as a country that’s in a conflict. That’s what their law says. But, of course, there are many other ways that Korea could do this through, you know, backfilling NATO countries that are providing weapons to Ukraine.

Korea has one of the largest, if not the largest, stockpile of munitions of any country in the world. And they also have tremendous production capacity in terms of munitions. And if there’s one thing that Ukraine needs in this war and that NATO allies who are supporting Ukraine need in this war, it’s munitions.

So I would say to watch this space. Like Ellen said, I don’t think they’ll announce anything at the summit, in part because it’s so proximate to this leak. So I think it makes it very awkward to announce anything during the summit. But I would watch this space because Yoon, he often emphasizes that his primary compass for foreign policy is the support of freedom and democracy and the liberal international order. And so you – (inaudible) – a sort of exhibit number (one ?) for the liberal international order, freedom, and democracy.

Operator: And next we have Aamer Madhani with AP. You’re open.

Do you expect Yoon will press Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act and making some sort of exceptions for Korean automakers’ manufactured EVs, or is that whole area closed? And I just sort of ask in the – you know, the administration offered or Biden said he was open to tweaks when Macron visited in December, and they did follow up with opening critical-mineral talks following the von der Leyen visit or during the von der Leyen visit.

Is there some room to accommodate the Koreans here? Thank you.

Dr. Cha: This is Victor. I mean, I think that certainly this was a big issue last year. It was the only thing that every South Korean government official, from the working level to the president of the country, would talk about, their first talking point when they met with any American.

I think the two sides have since tried to – in bilateral talks, tried to find ways to address Korean concerns, in particular with regard to one company and the one-tax subsidy issue. Overall, I think there’s – the Korean public became more aware of the element for the Inflation Reduction Act; there is a realization of how this is actually quite beneficial to Korea and Korean industries, particularly in the EV battery market, very beneficial to Korea as a supplier in the United States, as well as a global supplier, compared even with competition with China in this market globally.

And in addition to that, you know, I think there have been adjustments at the state level in terms of the effort to speed up the production of the Hyundai plant that will go online producing electric vehicles. And then there was also concessions given in terms of allowing for the – for leasing arrangements. Tax subsidies applied with regarding to leasing arrangements.

So the bottom line is that I don’t think this is as front-burner issue as it was over the – at the time that – at this time last year, in no small part because the two governments have been working quietly bilaterally to try to address Korean concerns about this one issue with regard to this one company.

Operator: And next we have Min-Seok Lee with Chosun Ilbo. You’re open.

Q: Hi. This is Min Lee of Chosun Ilbo. Thank you for doing this today.

Victor, you said that you don’t expect that U.S. and ROK will announce anything about China issues. Do you feel that at the Biden administration officials of the U.S. government want South Korea to be more aligned in countering China, and would push President Yoon privately this time? And would the U.S. require ROK more participation in the Ukraine situation, not just in weapon side, but also in condemning Russia with the rest of the world? Thank you.

Dr. Cha: So the way I would answer the question is I would say I think the context of both of these issues has changed overall. What I mean by that is that, you know, traditionally Koreans have been very shy to talk about Taiwan and very shy to get involved in any sort of contentions between the United States and China. Sort of classic entrapment fears, not wanting to get caught in between their main security patron and their main economic patron. But the situation is changing. Or, the situation has changed.

The war in Europe has created insecurities for everybody, not just in Europe but also in Asia, including Korea. In addition to that, you know, China has clearly been much more assertive in – as I said – in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Yellow Sea. It has incurred into South Korean airspace over Dokdo. I mean, it has – it has done all sorts of things. And so I think the environment has changed in such a way that Korea’s much more open to talking about Taiwan with the United States and in conjunction with Japan.

And the reason is the scenario that everybody’s worried about is some sort of contingency in the Taiwan Straits, and then North Korea seeing that as an opportunity for opportunistic behavior on the Korean Peninsula, when U.S. capacities are stretched. So this is a scenario that probably was a very far and distant contingency that Koreans preferred not to think about because it was uncomfortable. But the war in Europe and China’s assertiveness has made it – has made it such that they’re much more focused on it now.

So I don’t think it’s a question of the U.S. pushing Koreans harder. I think there’s an interest on the Korean side to understand more about these contingencies, what the U.S. plan is, and how to think about it trilaterally among the three allies. How do you apportion resources, preplan in the event that there’s a contingency where you – in Taiwan, where you also want to deter North Korea from doing anything – doing anything stupid.

And, again, with regard to Ukraine too, I mean, I would imagine that one of the questions – not in which Biden will push Yoon – but one of the questions that Yoon will most certainly ask Biden is, you know, what is the status of Ukraine? What is the future of this? You’ve seen this war going into – you know, through the rest of 2024. There’ll be a lot of interest from the Korean side, again, because it has major implications for Korean security.

So I guess my bottom line is I think it’s a different conversation today on both Taiwan and Ukraine than we would normally expect, where Koreans would prefer to sort of stay away from those sorts of things. I think there’s active interest in knowing what the situation is, what the implications are for Korea, and then how Korea should prepare with regard to both contingencies.

Operator: And –

Mr. Szechenyi: This is Nick.

Operator: Oh, I’m sorry.

Mr. Szechenyi: Sorry, could I jump in briefly? This is Nick. I just wanted to add –

Ms. Montfort: Hey, Nick, yes, absolutely. Go ahead.

Mr. Szechenyi:

 I just wanted to add – sorry, we’re all talking over each other. I just want to add briefly to what Victor said. I don’t think it’s so much about what South Korea or Japan says about China. It’s about what they do to strengthen deterrence and prevent China from thinking that it could drive a wedge between the United States and its two treaty allies. I think there’s wide recognition in the U.S. that, as countries on the frontlines of the China challenge, Korea and Japan are going to use more nuanced language, and their strategy is going to be more subtle. Still balancing deterrence and interaction with China, given shared interest in maintaining economic ties.

But you can do both, and you can do it in a nuanced way. So I think it’s much more important to encourage South Korea and Japan to start thinking about and discussing the issues that Victor raised with respect to regional security. I don’t think there’s an expectation that the South Korean should be more vocal or change the way it talks about China. It’s really about what we do together, and that speaks to the importance of alliance networking in that context.

Ms. Montfort: Great. Thank you so much, Nick.

Our next question comes from Dong Hyun Kim with Yonhap News. You’re open.

Q: Hi. Yes. This is Dong Hyun Kim from Yonhap.

I have a question on Ukraine and then one on export control. If South Korea provides lethal support to Ukraine, what impact will it have on inter-Korean relations? With each Korea indirectly participating in the conflict, do you think it will make it more unlikely that North will talk with South? And then on the export control, Greg mentioned Undersecretary Estevez’s comments on the cap and level. Going forward, will the U.S. government be open to providing some leeway for Korean companies operating in China? Or will the Korean companies just have to accept the fact that this is an environment that will not change, and have to somewhat reduce their presence in China? Thank you.

Dr. Cha: Thanks for the question. Why don’t I let Greg go first? Greg, do you want to go first?

Mr. Allen: Yes. So, you know, the statement that Undersecretary Estevez made at CSIS I think indicated two things. You know, one is that this is an area of ongoing discussion. And so if – and I do expect it to be an area of discussion, you know, at this state visit. So I’m not sure that there has been, you know, a final resolution. But the solutions that have been talked about, the potential answers that have been talked about, you know, do not discuss something like, you know, forcing South Korea to shut down these facilities.

I think the – you know, you used the language, scaling back. I think the more likely scenario is a reduction of future growth. And that would be growth both in terms of technological sophistication – so these facilities, you know, might continue to produce sort of at the current state of the art, but might not, you know, be upgraded technologically over time. And then the second, you know, is the production, output, and geographic footprint of these facilities being unlikely to increase over time.

I do want to, you know, point out that in the Chinese semiconductor sector, among the most technologically sophisticated Chinese-owned companies was YMTC, which was hurt extremely badly by these October 7th export controls. They were a major competitive threat to both Samsung and SK Hynix. And just in commercial terms, the – you know, the damage done to YMTC was probably worth more to these South Korean semiconductor companies than the challenges associated with their own, you know, Chinese production facilities. I’ll stop there. Thanks.

Dr. Cha: This is Victor. I’ll just add to that by saying that if that scenario proves to be the case, sort of reductions – not so much a closing, but reduction of future growth and footprint and technological sophistication. I mean, that, in effect, over time will I think eventually cause these plants in China eventually to move out because the Chinese will make the environment as difficult – after they are able to gain as much as they can from those companies, they will make it as difficult as possible for the Korean companies if they Korean companies are not cooperative, so.

Sorry, on Ukraine – your question was what on Ukraine?

Operator: I’m sorry, Dong Hyun Kim. Please re-queue by pressing one-zero. Dong Hyun Kim, you’re open.

Dr. Cha: Or, like, we remember, yeah.

Q: Again, my question –

• My question was: If South Korea provides lethal support to Ukraine –

Dr. Cha: Oh, right. Right, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Q: Impact on inter-Korean –

Dr. Cha: Right, and impacts on inter-Korean relations.

So I – my answer to that question is I don’t think it will have much impact on inter-Korean relations because I have very low expectations of anything happening in inter-Korean relations. As you know well, you know, North Korea has already made their decision about providing lethal equipment to Russia in the weapons that they are providing to Russia that the – that the White House released imagery of from November of last year. So they’ve already made their decision. They were one of only four countries that recognized Russia’s gains in the – in eastern Ukraine and that referred to Russia’s aggression as legitimate. So they are clearly using this as an opportunity to draw closer to Russia.

For South Korea, again, if we think about the costs and the benefits of providing lethal assistance, I don’t think it will have an impact on inter-Korean relations because I don’t think there is any interest by the North Koreans in engaging with South Korea at the moment. Second, Russia is already – already sees South Korea as a combatant in the war because of South Korean participation in sanctions, the global sanctions regime on Russia. And they – and through South Korean sales of munitions to the U.S. Army and their sales to Poland, the Russians already accuse South Korea of backfilling supporters of Ukraine in this war. So Korea’s already bearing the brunt of Russian anger and animosity when it comes to their support for the – for the war in Ukraine.

Ms. Montfort: Thank you, Dr. Cha.

I think we have time for one more question.

Operator: And that comes from Duk Byun with Yonhap News. You’re open.

Q: Oh, hello. Can you hear? Hello?

Ms. Montfort: Yes. Yes, we can.

Q: Hi. Well, thanks for taking my question. And this is Duk Byun from Yonhap News Agency.

I have a question for Victor. I think you spoke a little bit about extended deterrence, but I was hoping you could talk a little bit more about some of other deliverables that you think we can expect from the summit. Thanks.

Dr. Cha: Do you – do you mean on extended deterrence or deliverables in general?

Q: Oh, just any others.

Dr. Cha: So I mean, I – again, you know, as you would with any summit, in preparing any summit the administration is pretty tight-lipped about what they’re going to unveil. But I do think that – and so I can’t speak to the specifics, but I do think where we will see sort of plus-ups, if you will – like, movement forward – will be in terms of the types of exercising around the peninsula with regard to extended deterrence and more ways of demonstrating the presence, the reliability, and the strength of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, since that, you know, is a topic of a lot of discussion in South Korea. So I expect that we’ll see something on that.

And then on economic security, the other area where the Yoon government has expressed a strong interest in being much more participatory with the U.S. and with IPEF and with the Quad, on these sorts of things, I would expect to see more discussions of those issues. As Greg said, you know, there are some very specific issues on export controls that I think will be a topic of discussion.

You know, as you know, Kim Tae-hyo, the deputy national security adviser, was here last week, I think, to talk about these issues, as well as cyber and other issues. And, you know, the South Koreans have also put forward this idea of a 2+2+2, meaning a trilateral economic security dialogue among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. So I don’t know if that’s something that will come up or be discussed at the meeting.

And then, as Ellen said, I think there’s a lot of focus now on cyber and space, two areas that the Yoon government has expressed a lot of interest in working on. And so I expect to see plus-ups in terms of what the United States and South Korea can do in terms of cybersecurity information sharing, cybersecurity defensive deterrence, and cybersecurity exercising; and then the – in the area of space, exploration in space cooperation. I think this is another area that will be highlighted by Yoon’s visit to NASA.

Ms. Montfort: Great. Well, thank you so much to everyone for calling in today. This is Paige again. We are coming up on 10:00, so – and we don’t have any other questions in the queue, so I think we will wrap up here.

For those of you who dialed in today, thank you so much for taking the time. We will have the transcript out within just a few hours again. And if you have any follow-up questions, were not able to get your question asked and answered today, please feel free to reach out to me. My email is [email protected] . And we are more than happy to set you up with our experts.

So thanks again. And have a good day, everyone.

clock This article was published more than  1 year ago

Biden’s South Korea state dinner menu features fusion — and ice cream

As President Biden and first lady Jill Biden get set to host their second state dinner on Wednesday, this one to be held in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol , they seem to be developing a discernible black-tie entertaining style — at least when it comes to the food.

Just as they did for the dinner honoring visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in November, the Bidens are serving a menu that marries flourishes from the visiting delegation’s cuisines with their own classic tastes, according to a preview the White House offered on Monday. The first course perfectly captured that theme: It’s a Maryland crabcake, something that would be at home at country club luncheons across the mid-Atlantic, but here it’s accompanied by a slaw of cabbage, kohlrabi, radish, fennel and cucumber — ingredients that often find their way into the iconic Korean dish kimchi. Further underscoring the blending of cuisines, the dish is finished with a vinaigrette flavored with gochujang, spicy-sweet fermented paste that’s a staple condiment on Korean tables. (One potential quibble: It’s a little early in the season for fresh Maryland crabs, isn’t it?)

Jill Biden made clear that the symbolism on the plates — as well as the peony-strewn decor — was intentional. She said the evening’s aim was “honoring the 70 years of our alliance with symbols and moments of beauty that reflect both our countries.”

“We hope to showcase the harmony of our cultures and our people intertwined,” she said.

A yellow squash soup with cured strawberries is straight from the “Smoke and Pickles” cookbook of Edward Lee , the Korean American chef and TV personality, who the Bidens enlisted to help design the menu and work alongside White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison for the Wednesday event. For the Korean guests, it gets an addition of perilla leaf, a mint-like herb that is the subject of a viral dating scenario for young Koreans.

The main course is another lesson in culinary cross-pollination. Beef short ribs, called galbi in Korean, are taken on a trip through the southern United States with sides of butter bean grits and carrots glazed with sorghum. It’s easy to see the fingerprints of Lee, who is best known as the host of the PBS series “Mind of a Chef.” He often employs sorghum, a syrup he sources from Kentucky, where he launched his restaurant career at the helm of 610 Magnolia in Louisville. (He’s also the culinary director for Succotash, which has locations in Washington and National Harbor in Maryland.) Lee’s style, which is influenced both by his family heritage and Southern foodways, make him a natural fit for the elevated mash-up style the Bidens have settled on for state dinners.

At the Monday preview of the menu and decor, Lee said it was ingredients he thought of first when planning the menu. “We want to lead with the seasons,” he said, noting that the butter beans taking the place of traditional dried corn were “herbaceous and green” and happily in-season. Then he took the same approach he does at his restaurants. “I wanted to take some of my favorite American foods and tinker with it a little bit,” he said. “And add a little bit of Korean touches so it’s familiar but unexpected.”

Gochujang gives a spicy, smoky and sweet boost to these 6 recipes

The addition of a guest chef is a return to a practice the Obamas frequently used to maximize the culinary diplomacy that’s always on the menu at state dinners: “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto assisted when the couple hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; Anita Lo was in the kitchen for the dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping. Celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Marcus Samuelsson and Mario Batali were also among the ringers brought in to lend extra star power to the Obamas’ dinners.

One of the wines being poured at the Wednesday dinner has a diplomatic pedigree. The Schramsberg blanc de blancs is the same one that President Richard M. Nixon took with him on his historic peacemaking trip to China a half-century ago (though Nixon toasted the Chinese president with a glass of the 1969; the Bidens will raise over the dessert course the 2019). The menu also pairs a Ferdinand “Vista Luna Vineyard” albariño from 2020 with the first course and a Januik “Red Mountain” merlot from 2020 with the main.

And it wouldn’t be a Biden affair without ice cream, the president’s famously favorite sweet and a staple of his campaign-trail personality. For the state dinner’s final course, the selection is what might happen if an old-fashioned scoop shop went worldly: a banana split featuring lemon-bar ice cream and berries goes bold with a mint-gingersnap cookie crumble and caramel sauce accented with doenjang, a salty, fermented soybean paste. Edible flowers from the White House garden act as a colorful garnish.

“That was the first thing I was told,” Lee said, laughing. “Ice cream!”

Lee told reporters that the first person he called after being asked to guest-chef at the state dinner was his mother, who immigrated to the United States from Korea. “We struggled and we had amazing opportunities, and we’ve always felt this huge debt of gratitude to the United States of America,” he said. “So to come full circle and to give back and be able to do this was gratifying for me and for my mom.”

But what, a reporter asked, was her advice?

“She said, 'don’t mess it up.’”

Staff writer Travis Andrews contributed to this report.

North Korea officials visit Iran in a rare public trip

• Medium Text

Sign up here.

Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

India begins voting in second phase of giant election as modi vs gandhi campaign heats up.

India began voting on Friday in the second phase of the world's biggest election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rivals raise the pitch of the campaign by focusing on hot-button issues such as religious discrimination, affirmative action and taxes.

Kiribati's parliament has voted to remove Australian-born High Court Judge David Lambourne, who said on Friday the move was politically motivated and an attack on the independence of the Pacific Island nation's judiciary.

North Korean leader Kim leads rocket drills that simulate a nuclear counterattack against enemies

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised salvo launches of the country’s “super-large” multiple rocket launchers that simulated a nuclear counterattack against enemy targets, state media said Tuesday, adding to tests and threats that have raised tensions in the region.

The report by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the North firing what they suspected were multiple short-range ballistic missiles from a region near its capital, Pyongyang, toward its eastern seas.

Analysts say North Korea’s large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundary between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery. The North has described some of these systems, including the 600mm multiple rocket launchers that were tested Monday, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads.

KCNA said Monday’s launches represented the first demonstration of the country’s nuclear-weapons management and control system called “Haekbangashoe,” or “nuclear trigger.” The report described the drill as aimed at demonstrating the strength and diverse attack means of North Korea’s nuclear forces amid deepening tensions with the United States and South Korea , which it portrayed as “warmongers” raising tensions in the region with their combined military exercises.

State media photos showed at least four rockets being fired from launch vehicles as Kim watched from an observation post. It said the rockets flew 218 miles before accurately hitting an island target and that the drill verified the reliability of the “system of command, management, control and operation of the whole nuclear force.”

KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction, saying that the multiple rocket launchers were as accurate as a “sniper’s rifle.”

He said the drill was crucial for “preparing our nuclear force to be able to rapidly and correctly carry out their important mission of deterring a war and taking the initiative in a war in any time and any sudden situation.” The comments reflected North Korea’s escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorizes the military to launch preemptive nuclear strikes against enemies if it perceives the leadership as under threat.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons from Monday’s launches flew about 185 miles before crashing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan . The ranges suggested the weapons would most likely target sites in South Korea. The latest launches came as South Korea and the United States have been conducting a two-week combined aerial exercise that continues through Friday aimed at sharpening their response capabilities against North Korean threats.

When asked about the North Korean claims, Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it remains unclear whether the North perfected the designs for small, battlefield nuclear weapons that could fit on its rockets. He insisted the North was most likely exaggerating the accuracy of its multiple rocket launcher systems and that South Korea would be able to detect and intercept such weapons, without elaborating on specific missile defense capabilities.

Lee said it was possible that the North used the drill to test the multiple rocket launchers it potentially plans to export to Russia as the countries expand their military cooperation in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The U.S. and South Korea have accused North Korea of transferring artillery shells, missiles and other munitions to Russia to help extend its warfighting in Ukraine.

North Korea in recent months has maintained an accelerated pace in weapons testing as it continues to expand its military capabilities while diplomacy with the United States and South Korea remains stalled. Outside officials and analysts say Kim’s goal is to eventually pressure the United States into accepting the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

In response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats, the United States and South Korea have been strengthening their bilateral military drills and trilateral exercises with Japan. The countries are also sharpening their nuclear deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

In past years, North Korea has test-fired nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike sites in South Korea, Japan and the mainland U.S. Many experts say North Korea already possesses nuclear missiles that can reach all of South Korea and Japan, but it has yet to develop functioning intercontinental ballistic missiles that can travel to the continental U.S.

The latest launches came days after North Korea announced Saturday it tested a “super-large” cruise missile warhead  and a new anti-aircraft missile in a western coastal area earlier last week. In early April, North Korea also test-launched what it called a solid-fuel intermediate-range missile  with hypersonic warhead capabilities, a weapon that experts say is meant to attack remote targets in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.

The Associated Press