| U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks at the Major Joseph R. 'Beau' Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in New Castle, Del. AP |
Joe Biden was set to be sworn in as the new U.S. president Wednesday, ending the Donald Trump presidency and facing a series of daunting challenges, including how to reunite a badly divided nation and deal with the coronavirus pandemic and a saber-rattling North Korea.
Biden will take the oath of office as the 46th U.S. president on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at around noon in an inauguration ceremony involving a minimum number of participants and little or no spectators due in part to the pandemic but also security concerns caused by a recent riot.
Biden and his transition team had noted the need to keep this year's ceremony at a minimum, stressing the need for people to keep social distance as a way of preventing the spread of the new coronavirus, which has already claimed more than 400,000 American lives.
The need to keep it small and simple became more apparent after a large group of violent protesters breached the Capitol two weeks ago on Jan. 6, just as the U.S. Congress was ready to certify Biden as the winner of the latest presidential election.
Areas near the White House and the Capitol have since been under a lockdown, with tens of thousands of National Guard soldiers expected to safeguard the areas until after the inauguration.
Ceremony organizers have said the traditional parade that follows the inauguration of a new president will also be held virtually this year.
Also making the ceremony different from previous events, Donald Trump has said he would not attend Biden's swearing-in ceremony, which would make him the first sitting U.S. president since 1869 to boycott a presidential inauguration.
Earlier reports said former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their wives, will be present at Biden's inauguration "as is custom."
Trump, on the other hand, is scheduled to leave early in the morning for Florida, according to the White House.
The outgoing president continues to reject his election defeat, accusing Biden and his Democratic followers of stealing the election.
He, however, now faces an impeachment trial by the Senate, partly for his challenges to the election system that many courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have dismissed as "groundless."
Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives earlier this month for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
While Trump's impeachment trial may reflect the wide political divide that still exists after the Nov. 3 election, Biden is expected to focus on unity in his inaugural address.
Prior to the election, the former vice president had promised to build America back better but has since emphasized the need to build a more or "better united" U.S.
While Biden is expected to bring significant changes in nearly every aspect, including how the U.S. deals with its allies, simply by giving up Trump's "America First" policy, his early top executive days will likely be spent on domestic issues, such as the pandemic, its economic fallout and racial justice.
Still, Biden has also underlined the importance of working with U.S. allies to restore his country's global leadership and to counter threats from countries like China and North Korea.
North Korea has refrained from any major provocations, also maintaining its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing since November 2017.
Its leader, Kim Jong-un, however, called for continued efforts to further develop the country's nuclear capabilities, along with its delivery system.
Biden has yet to offer any direct message to North Korea, but his pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the new administration will review the country's entire North Korea approach.
"I think we have to review and we intend to review the entire approach and policy toward North Korea because this is a hard problem that has plagued administration after administration, and it's a problem that has not gotten better," Blinken said Tuesday in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He said the Biden administration will also work with U.S. allies, including South Korea, to deal with risks posed by countries such as North Korea.
"We can revitalize our core alliances ― force multipliers of our influence around the world. Together, we are far better positioned to counter threats posed by Russia, Iran and North Korea and to stand up for democracy and human rights," he said. (Yonhap)