South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol celebrated Seoul’s alliance with Washington, which he called “stronger than ever,” at a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday during a state visit to deter North Korea’s nuclear threat. .
Yoon has been in the United States since Tuesday to commemorate seven decades of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, against the backdrop of tensions with neighboring Pyongyang, the war in Ukraine and other global challenges.
“Our alliance was forged 70 years ago to defend the freedom of Korea. The alliance has now become a global alliance to safeguard freedom and peace throughout the world,” he said.
After greeting the legislators of both houses, the South Korean president assured that there are “many reasons to celebrate” these ties. “We had no guarantees of success when it started, but today our alliance is stronger than ever,” he added.
Leaders in both chambers invited Yoon to deliver a speech on Capitol Hill – the seat of Congress – in a letter stressing the “great importance and significance” of the relationship between the two allies.
He is the third foreign ruler to participate in a joint meeting of Congress since Democrat Joe Biden took office, following invitations last year to Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky.
Yoon held a meeting with Biden at the White House on Wednesday, after which they warned North Korea that it would face a nuclear response that would spell its “end” if Pyongyang used its arsenal.
Both presidents signed what was dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” reinforcing the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea, which is increasingly nervous about hostility from its communist neighbor.
“We need to accelerate trilateral security cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan to counter the growing nuclear threat from North Korea,” Yoon told lawmakers, vowing to work for Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
“We must raise global awareness of (the) dire human rights situation in North Korea. We must not shy away from our duty to promote the freedom of North Koreans,” he added.