| South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden share a joke at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Aug. 18. Yonhap |
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed Friday to continue to closely cooperate on strengthening the credibility of the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea, the presidential office said.
The two leaders held a bilateral meeting ahead of a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and discussed the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as well as regional and global issues, the office said in a press release.
"The two leaders noted the faithful implementation of the Washington Declaration agreed in April, through the successful launch of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) and the deployment of a U.S. nuclear submarine, and agreed to continue to closely cooperate to strengthen the credibility of extended deterrence," the press release said.
"President Biden reaffirmed the U.S.' ironclad defense commitment and extended deterrence commitment to South Korea," it continued.
Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to use all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend an ally.
Yoon and Biden last held a bilateral meeting during the South Korean president's state visit to Washington in April and adopted the Washington Declaration calling for the establishment of the NCG and the increased visibility of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula.
During Friday's meeting, they reaffirmed their strong commitment to achieving sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula through the complete denuclearization of North Korea while agreeing to strengthen cooperation against North Korea's exports of labor and illegal cyber activities and to block channels of funding for North Korea's nuclear and missile development.
They also noted the close cooperation between their countries on economic security and cutting-edge technologies, expressed hope for further cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductors and nuclear power, and shared the view that the trilateral summit with Kishida will open a new chapter for trilateral cooperation.
"President Biden noted that President Yoon Suk Yeol's efforts to normalize South Korea-Japan relations laid the foundation for strengthened South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation," the press release said. (Yonhap)