Joint Statement by ROK-US Leaders Covering Quad, South China Sea, Taiwan... 'Technology Cooperation' Emphasized in Fact Sheet

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 21st (local time), President Moon Jae-in and President Joe Biden held a Korea-US summit and issued a joint statement that included the importance of the Quad, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait. Separately prepared partnership factsheets detailed deepened cooperation in vaccines and advanced technology sectors.

Through the joint statement released that day, both Korea and the US reaffirmed their "commitment to an ironclad alliance."

The two countries stated in the joint statement, "We will cooperate to link Korea's New Southern Policy with the US's Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision," and "We recognize the importance of open, transparent, and inclusive regional multilateralism such as the Quad."

They also pledged to "maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and other areas, respect for international law including freedom of legitimate and unimpeded commerce, navigation, and overflight," and emphasized "the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

In the security sector, they committed to "strengthening the alliance's deterrence posture, sharing the importance of maintaining joint military readiness, and reaffirming a firm will for conditions-based wartime operational control transfer," and agreed to deepen cooperation in new threat domains such as cyber and space. The US evaluated Korea's international role in nuclear non-proliferation and announced the termination of the revised missile guidelines after consultations.

Regarding North Korea policy, they "urged North Korea and the international community to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions," and reaffirmed "a shared belief that diplomacy and dialogue based on existing inter-Korean and North Korea-US agreements such as the 2018 Panmunjom Declaration and the Singapore Joint Statement are essential to achieving complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace."

They also shared a commitment to continue promoting humanitarian aid to North Korean residents and facilitate reunions of separated families between the two Koreas. Furthermore, they emphasized the fundamental importance of trilateral cooperation among Korea, the US, and Japan to address North Korean issues and safeguard joint security.

Beyond security, they agreed to cooperate in economic and health sectors. Details related to this are included more extensively in a separate factsheet. The two countries will leverage their respective strengths to build a comprehensive Korea-US Global Vaccine Partnership and actively cooperate to significantly expand global COVID-19 vaccine supply to countries worldwide, including coordination with COVAX and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

To this end, they decided to launch the "Korea-US Global Vaccine Partnership Expert Group," a high-level expert group composed of scientists, specialists, and government officials from both countries. Korea evaluated the US decision to contribute $4 billion this year and decided to substantially increase its commitment to COVAX AMC within the year. Additionally, Korea pledged a new commitment of $200 million over five years starting in 2021 to prevent potential health crises.

The two countries agreed to cooperate to enhance supply chain resilience, including semiconductors, eco-friendly electric vehicle (EV) batteries, strategic and critical raw materials, and pharmaceuticals. They will also collaborate in private space exploration, science, and aerospace research fields and plan to cooperate for Korea's signing of the Artemis Accords.

Moreover, they will support expanded exchanges among experts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and exchange best practices to end abuse against women and girls and reduce the gender wage gap. The statement also condemned violence against Asian Americans and violence by Myanmar’s military and police against civilians.

The statement said, "Through Korea-US cooperation, the Korea-US alliance will expand its international role to address significant challenges," and "We look forward to closely cooperating to ensure the Korea-US alliance maintains this role for decades to come."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.