South Korea's Yoon welcomed at White House on state visit

US President Joe Biden greeted his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol with a grand ceremony at the White House on Wednesday.

Yoon was in the US for a state to discuss how to shore up Washington's nuclear deterrent on the Korean peninsula.

The first formal state visit from a South Korean leader in over a decade comes as its northern neighbor increases its missile tests and aggressive rhetoric.

Biden hailed the "iron-clad alliance" that was forged in the Korean War which is also marking its 70th anniversary.

"Ours is a future filled with unimaginable opportunities," the US president said amid pomp and pageantry outside the White House.

Yoon described the alliance between the two countries as "an alliance of values, standing together to safeguard the universal value of freedom."

What did Biden and Yoon discuss?

The two presidents held a press conference after their meeting, with President Yoon saying they had agreed on the need for a strong response in the case of an attack from the north.

"Our two countries have agreed to immediate bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack and promise to respond swiftly, overwhelmingly and decisively using the full force of the alliance including US nuclear weapons," Yoon told reporters.

"Sustainable peace on the Korean peninsula does not happen automatically," he said.

Biden backed up Yoon's comments, saying an attack by Kim Jong Un's regime would be its end.

"A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action," Biden told the press conference.

Biden and Yoon also agreed to strengthen their economic relationship, boosting cooperation in the fields of microchips, electric vehicles and batteries.

New deterrence measures

The two leaders are expected to announce the "Washington Declaration" which will lay out measures to strengthen deterrence to prevent an attack from North Korea.

One part of that includes the deployment of a US nuclear submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades, as was separately announced on Wednesday.

It will also set up a consultative group made up of representatives from both countries so as better to involve South Korea in nuclear policy.

US officials emphasized that Washington would maintain complete control of its nuclear weapons.

"The United States has not taken these steps, really, since the height of the Cold War with our very closest handful of allies in Europe. And we are seeking to ensure that by undertaking these new procedures, these new steps, that our commitment to extended deterrence is unquestionable," a senior official told AFP.

ab/jcg (AFP, Reuters)