Joe Biden and Moon Jae-in pledged to boost US-South Korean relations

Last updated on February 16th, 2021 at 07:20 am

On Thursday, South Korea’s Moon Jae-in and the US President Joe Biden on a telephone call discussed strengthening the United States-ROK alliance and work towards achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

After his first telephone conversation with the US President’s inauguration ceremony, President Moon Jae-in tweeted that he had an incredible conversation with President @JoeBiden @POTUS and that he welcomed the US’s return amidst challenges like environmental change, coronavirus pandemic, and economic polarization. 

We will consistently stand together as we work towards peace on the Korean Peninsula and also address global challenges. He expressed that the two nations have vowed to further upgrade the Republic of Korea-US partnership, an alliance that is secured in shared values.

Moon, became President of the Republic of Korea in 2017 and was once the motivating force behind the now-stagnant diplomacy between North Korean pioneer Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump. The talks between Kim and Trump collapsed in mid-2019 when Washington dismissed North Korea’s calls for sanction reliefs in exchange for limited denuclearization measures.

As per Bloomberg, the ties between the allies were tried under former US president Trump, who kept blaming South Korea for fooling the U.S. furthermore, demanded a five-fold increase in fees to support US troops posted there.

The White House in a statement said that “president Biden in a conversation with Moon stressed his commitment to fortifying the US-(South Korea) alliance, which is the key part for promoting peace and prosperity in the Northeast Asia region.” It added that both presidents consented to intently coordinate on North Korea. 

Earlier on Thursday, Moon tweeted that he had a great talk with Biden. “We will stand together as we work for tranquility on the Korean Peninsula and tackle various worldwide challenges,” he added. 

Moon’s office stated that both the leaders agreed that the cooperation among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo is significant for building regional peace, The Associated Press reported.