Yoon Summons Senior Officials Over Weekend... Final Checks on Nuclear Sharing and Detailed Agendas Ahead of US Visit

Working at the government office on the weekend to review summit agenda and joint speech
South Korea and the U.S. prepare '70th Alliance Anniversary' promotional materials and tribute video
Final checks on domestic issues like rental fraud... "Swift preparation of legislation"

President Yoon Suk-yeol will depart on the 24th for a state visit to the United States. This state visit marks the first by a South Korean president in 12 years since former President Lee Myung-bak in 2011, and President Yoon is the second South Korean head of state to visit the U.S. since the Biden administration took office. Both South Korea and the United States appear to be elevating the atmosphere surrounding this summit, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon commuted to the Yongsan Presidential Office last weekend before his departure to review detailed agendas for the Korea-U.S. summit and the speech for the joint session of the U.S. Congress. A senior official from the Presidential Office stated, "In addition to preparing for the trip, the president received reports from aides on domestic issues such as jeonse fraud and issued separate instructions."

On the 23rd (local time), one day before President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit, the U.S. military honor guard lined up holding the American flag and the Taegeukgi in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo by Yonhap News.

Currently, the United States has hung the American and Korean flags side by side on the building next to the White House and has completed preparations for the state visit by displaying both flags along major roads in Washington D.C. In particular, advertisements commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance can be seen in various locations. These advertisements depict the U.S. honor guard in 1953 during the Korean War and the Korean honor guard in 2023 holding the American and Korean flags side by side. These advertisements have been installed near the Washington Korean Cultural Center and the former Korean Empire Consulate building. The day before, the U.S. military honor guard holding the American and Korean flags also appeared in front of the White House.

In line with President Yoon’s state visit to the U.S., both countries have agreed to simultaneously broadcast a tribute video honoring the "10 Heroes of the Korean War" in major cities. Domestically, the video will start airing on about 120 electronic billboards in Seoul and will expand to over 150 locations nationwide from the 1st of next month. In Seoul, approximately 10,000 broadcasts per day are planned at locations such as the Yongsan District Haitai Confectionery Building, Seoul Shinmun, and the K-pop Plaza. This tribute video was jointly produced by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. Currently, an English version of the video has been airing about 680 times daily at New York’s Times Square from the 20th of last month until the 3rd of next month local time.

The tribute video was created to commemorate the Korean War, the starting point of the 70-year Korea-U.S. alliance, and to remember the alliance of values of freedom and solidarity as well as the security alliance between the two countries, while pledging for another 70 years of future cooperation. The ten heroes featured in the video are ▲ General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the United Nations Command ▲ General James Van Fleet and his son ▲ General William Show and his son ▲ Colonel Dean Hess of the Air Force ▲ Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr. of the Army ▲ Colonel Kim Young-ok of the U.S. Army ▲ General Paik Sun-yup of the Army ▲ General Kim Du-man of the Air Force ▲ Colonel Kim Dong-seok of the Army ▲ Colonel Park Jung-mo of the Marine Corps.

President Yoon also focused on preparations for the trip by coming to the office over the weekend. He organized the South Korean government’s stance on sensitive issues to be raised at the summit and reviewed the speech for the joint session of the U.S. Congress again. The most important schedule during this visit is the summit with President Joe Biden. Attention is focused on how much progress will be made on extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threat during this summit, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance. There is also a possibility that friction with Russia and China, following President Yoon’s recent interview on the Ukraine war, will be discussed.

Strengthening extended deterrence in response to North Korea’s nuclear threat is also a critical issue. South Korea and the U.S. have been negotiating to document the specific details of a so-called "Korean-style nuclear sharing," in which the South Korean government actively participates in operating U.S. nuclear assets. It will be crucial to see how direct and clear the measures included in the joint press statement released after the summit by the two presidents will be.

Before departing, President Yoon also attended to domestic issues besides preparing for the trip. On the afternoon of the previous day, he chaired a senior secretaries meeting to review security and livelihood issues. President Yoon urged, "Make every effort to ensure housing stability for victims and promptly prepare effective legislation." On the same day, the ruling party and government held a party-government council at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to discuss measures against jeonse fraud. They decided to promote the enactment of a "Special Act on Support for Jeonse Fraud Victims and Housing Stability" to recover damages and support victims of jeonse fraud.

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