Biden’s ideal South Korean partner is Yoon Suk-yeol

Biden’s ideal South Korean partner, conservative new president, has demonstrated that he is in lockstep with the United States in less than two months. Foreign policy advice from Vice President Joe Biden.

Seoul was the first destination on Biden’s first Indo-Pacific trip in May, a reference to the importance of Yoon’s administration for American interests. 카지노사이트

The two leaders discussed a wide range of subjects during their summit, including climate change, essential technology, global health, and economic and energy security.

But it was their security chats that suggest Yoon’s overlapping term with Biden heralds a golden period in the US-South Korean alliance.

Yoon and Biden agreed to “expand the scope and scale” of combined military exercises and training to deter potential aggression from North Korea.

These exercises were canceled by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his counterpart

President Donald Trump, to create a favorable environment for denuclearization talks with Pyongyang.

Yoon stated in his remarks following his meeting with Biden that they also discussed the possibility of deploying strategic military assets

Such as “fighters, bombers, or missiles,” to South Korea to strengthen deterrence.

Despite his tough stance toward North Korea, Yoon agrees with Biden on the importance of keeping

The door open for future talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Yoon has stated that “in partnership with the international community, I am prepared to present an audacious plan that will vastly strengthen

Its economy and improve the quality of life for its people,” and it is fair to say that both of their policies are a revamped version of President Barack Obama’s strategic patience.

Yoon is also enthusiastic about repairing South Korea’s historically strained relationship with another key US ally, Japan.

“Yoon’s push for South Korea-Japan thaw meets hesitancy in Tokyo,” Yoon and his team have reached out to Tokyo to strengthen security cooperation and, for the time being 카지노 블로그

Have set aside stumbling blocks, most notably the World War II-era “comfort women” issue.

Yoon specifically demands a bilateral strategic engagement with Japan, as well as revitalized trilateral discussions and drills with the US.

Yoon also wants to normalize the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan

Which is a vital facilitator of trilateral security cooperation and was threatened to be terminated by Yoon’s predecessor due to a lack of confidence.

Yoon is moving so quickly that Tokyo may not be politically equipped to engage this new South Korea at such a close level.

Yoon and Moon’s positions on China are similar. These include “respect for international law and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and beyond”

And a commitment to maintaining peace through “respect for international law and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and beyond.”

Yoon, like Biden, speaks more passionately than his predecessor about the need for democracies to collaborate against autocracies.

Yoon, like Biden, speaks more passionately than his predecessor about the need for democracies to collaborate against autocracies.

Following the summit, Yoon stated that, while Seoul did not wish to exclude any country

He and Biden “want to start this close solidarity and cooperation among the like-minded countries and countries that share the [liberal] values.”

Yoon said of China in an April interview with The Washington Post

We need to consider that our constitutional or political values are completely different. We must respect those distinctions.”

To be sure, Yoon is not a China hawk, which is consistent with Biden’s policies.

The Biden administration has repeatedly emphasized the importance of “guard rails” to keep US-China competition from spiraling out of control.

Similarly, Yoon has limits when it comes to infuriating China. For example, after his election

He did not bring up human rights violations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang during a meeting with the Chinese ambassador.

Despite North Korea’s recent missile tests, Yoon has no plans to deploy additional

US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries in South Korea.

This is because, following the deployment of THAAD in 2017

Beijing retaliated with economic sanctions that crippled a portion of South Korea’s economy.

Yoon, perhaps more than any previous South Korean leader, appears to have a global view.

He wants his country to be a “global key state,” and Biden appears eager to capitalize on these goals.

Yoon promptly agreed to take part in the Biden administration’s new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

Yoon also wants South Korea to join the Quad alongside Australia, India, Japan

And the United States, something Moon has been reluctant to do.

He wishes to broaden Seoul’s diplomacy beyond the Indo-Pacific to encompass Europe.

Yoon became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit last week. He has also maintained sanctions against Russia.

Yoon and Biden’s perfect alignment will almost certainly have political and strategic ramifications.

Future South Korean leaders, particularly liberal ones, may find it more difficult to abandon Japan

If Yoon spends the next five years strengthening security cooperation with Tokyo.

They may struggle even more to strike the traditional balance between Washington and Beijing now that Yoon has openly sided with the US on everything.

They may also face criticism if their focus remains on the peninsula rather than on the region or the world.

Yoon’s ambitions, whether realized or partially realized, will cast a long shadow for many years to come.

Derek Grossman is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California and a senior defense analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. 안전한 카지노사이트

He previously worked as the Pentagon’s daily intelligence briefer for the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs.