Biden and Moon underlined their commitment to North Korea’s “total denuclearization”

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, received his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae In, at the White House on Friday, with whom he shared his “deep concern” about the situation in North Korea and its nuclear missile program, for which both stressed their commitment to work for the “Total denuclearization” of the peninsula.

At the leaders’ meeting, on the sidelines of a foreign leader’s second visit to the White House in the Biden administration, the two spoke about their joint focus on Pyongyang and the “threat” of its nuclear and missile programs.

More, They said they shared the “will” to “engage diplomatically” with North Korea to “take pragmatic measures to reduce tensions,” as the President of the United States explained.

All this, with the aim of achieving “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said Biden, who also announced that the Acting Undersecretary of the Office of East Asia and Pacific Affairs , Sung Kim, will serve as the United States’ special envoy to North Korea. , reports CNN.

The President of the United States acknowledged that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was an “incredibly difficult” goal and recalled that none of the previous four administrations had achieved it.

In this context, he also expressed that a meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, could be possible with the commitment that “there is a discussion on his nuclear arsenal”.

PYONGYANG POLICY REVIEW

The meeting between Moon and the US president came after Washington completed its review of the Pyongyang policy, a process that spanned months and the outcome of which was discussed with the South Korean team on Friday.

The review was greeted “with satisfaction” by Moon, as it takes a “practical and calibrated approach” that “is open and will explore diplomacy with North Korea to achieve tangible progress that increases United States security and of South Korea ”, according to a joint statement.

Regarding Pyongyang as well, the two leaders agreed to work together to “improve the human rights situation” in the country and pledged to continue “to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to North Koreans who need it. most needed “.

They also stressed the “importance” of the trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan to deal with this situation, “to protect our common security and prosperity, to uphold common values ​​and to strengthen the rule-based order ”.

The leaders, however, expressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reiterated their “opposition” to any activity that “undermines, destabilizes or threatens the rules-based institutional order”, as well as they pledged to maintain that of an “inclusive, free and open” Indo-Pacific.

More, Biden and Moon expressed support for the “centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN”), within which they decided to promote “greater connectivity” and foster “l ‘digital innovation’.“. In this context, they also condemned the violence perpetrated by the Burmese army and police against the civilian population and called on the international community to provide Burmese shelters and to ban the sale of arms to the military junta which controls the country. .

Likewise, they agreed to “deepen cooperation in other areas”, including cyberspace and outer space, to ensure a joint “effective” response to emerging threats.

Other topics covered by the leaders were global health, climate, emerging technologies, supply chain resilience or migration, among others.

VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19

In this context, the two leaders agreed to create a global association of vaccines, Korus Global Vaccine, to “strengthen the capacities of joint response to infectious diseases” and stressed that they will join together to meet the demand for vaccines against COVID-19.

“We believe that between the second half of 2021 and until 2022, we could produce up to another billion doses of vaccine,” said the President of the United States in this regard.

Biden also announced that the United States will provide comprehensive coronavirus vaccines to 550,000 South Korean service members – airmen, soldiers, sailors – who work closely with American forces, he reports. Bloomberg.

The US and South Korean presidents also agreed to work together to alleviate the semiconductor shortage that has hampered the production of automobiles and electronics, although an agreement had already been announced to deepen cooperation in a number. industries, including industries. Batteries for electric vehicles.

The United States and South Korea have also agreed to end bilateral missile guidelines, which have long limited missile development in Seoul below the 800-kilometer range.

“We recognize that with our cooperation, the US-ROK alliance will play an increasingly global role, enabling us to meet these critical challenges,” the two sides added in the joint statement.

(With information from Europa Press)

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