Yoon, Biden likely to stress deterrence against North Korea during summit

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup championships at the White House, Monday, in Washington. AP-Yonhap

Biden to visit Seoul on May 20, have summit following day

By Nam Hyun-woo

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a summit in Seoul on May 21, according to officials, Thursday. The U.S. leader is scheduled to visit South Korea from May 20 to 22.

The two leaders are expected to share their views on North Korea's escalating missile and nuclear threats, South Korea's new stance on joining U.S. efforts to contain China and other pending economic and geopolitical matters.

"President-elect Yoon welcomed President Biden's plan to visit South Korea from May 20 to 22," Yoon's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin said in a statement.

"The summit, which will be held on the occasion of President Biden's visit, will mark the earliest-ever South Korea-U.S. summit to take place following a South Korean president's inauguration," she said. "And the leaders will have comprehensive consultations on the progress of the Seoul-Washington alliance, coordination in North Korea policies, economy, security and other regional and international matters."

Bae said later that the summit will be held on May 21, adding, "Yoon said the summit will be a timely meeting to discuss the South Korea-U.S. alliance amid North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats and global supply chain uncertainties."

The summit will be the earliest-ever of its kind, taking place just 11 days after Yoon's inauguration on May 10, Bae explained.

President Moon Jae-in held his summit with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on June 30, 2017, 51 days after his inauguration. Moon's predecessor Park Geun-hye held her first summit with then-President Barack Obama 71 days after her inauguration.

Also, the May meeting will be the first time in 29 years that a U.S. president visited Seoul before a new South Korean president traveled to Washington. In July 1993, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton met former President Kim Young-sam in Seoul, marking Clinton's first visit to an overseas country for a summit.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said in a statement that Biden will visit South Korea and Japan from May 20 to 24, to "discuss opportunities to deepen our vital security relationships, enhance economic ties, and expand our close cooperation to deliver practical results."

The top agenda item for the upcoming Yoon-Biden summit is anticipated to be North Korea's missile and nuclear threats.

While celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army earlier this week, its leader, Kim Jong-un, dropped hints of using nuclear weapons for offensive purposes and not just for a retaliatory strike. Those comments were interpreted as a sign that the regime will no longer stick to its past policy of only responding to a nuclear attack.

Kim's remarks also showed that the North is no longer interested in "talks for talk's sake," which was seen as the totalitarian regime's response to Yoon's North Korea policy principle of "stronger deterrence."

"The meeting is anticipated to be an occasion to confirm that the North Korea policies of Seoul and Washington are aligned to stronger deterrence against Pyongyang's threats," said Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

"The priority in the Biden administration's North Korea policy is denuclearization, which is also the core idea of Yoon's strategy. With the U.S. stressing deterrence against North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Yoon is also highlighting the importance of deterrence. Compared to the current Moon Jae-in administration, the Yoon administration's North Korea policy direction is expected to be in unison with that of Biden, and we may be able to confirm this at the summit," Go said.

In line with this direction, anticipation is growing whether Yoon will raise the agenda item of reactivating the regular meetings of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), a high-level consultative mechanism to achieve North Korean denuclearization through steadfast deterrence. The EDSCG last met in January 2018, as talks between the leaders of the two Koreas and the U.S. picked up momentum.

If the EDSCG reactivates to resume talks over deploying U.S. strategic assets in South Korea and surrounding areas, it will send a stronger signal of the Yoon administration's hawkish stance toward Pyongyang. Yoon has already delivered his proposal to reactivate the EDSCG through his delegation to the U.S. earlier this month.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol listens to French Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lefort, unseen, during his visit to the presidential transition committee office in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps

Also during the summit, the two sides are expected to share discussions on Seoul's stronger presence in U.S.-led efforts to contain China.

While announcing Biden's trip to Seoul and Tokyo, the White House said it will "advance the Biden-Harris Administration's rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Yoon has already expressed his intention to lean toward the U.S. in the rivalry between the superpowers, saying he will "positively review joining" the U.S.-led Quadrilateral Security Dialogue if South Korea is invited, in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Against this backdrop, observers said the two leaders may share opinions on Seoul joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for cooperation in the region.

"Biden is coming to South Korea before visiting Japan, and this seems to be a signal that Washington is expecting Seoul to raise its voice on not only North Korea but also international issues, including trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as well as those involving China," Go said.

During Biden's visit to Seoul, the U.S. president is also anticipated to meet President Moon Jae-in, whose last day in office is May 9.

An official at the presidential office said, "The two sides are reviewing the schedules for their meetings, in order to express mutual trust and respect."