Biden bolsters economic, defense alliances
SEOUL — President Biden tended to both business and security interests Sunday as he wrapped up a three-day trip to South Korea, first showcasing Hyundai’s pledge to invest at least $10 billion in the United States and later visiting with troops at a nearby military base.
Biden’s visit to Osan Air Base, where thousands of U.S. and South Korean service members monitor the rapidly evolving North Korean nuclear threat, was his final stop before he arrived in Tokyo later Sunday.
“You are the front line, right here in this room,” the president said in a command center with maps of the Korean Peninsula projected across screens.
It was a day that brought together two key messages that Biden is trying to project during his first trip to Asia as president.
At a time of high inflation and simmering dissatisfaction at home, Biden emphasized his global mission to strengthen the American economy by convincing foreign companies like Hyundai to build new operations in the United States. And he wanted to demonstrate solidarity with nervous Asian allies who live in the shadow of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and grew skeptical of U.S. security commitments while President Donald Trump was in office.
Earlier Sunday, Biden brushed aside questions about any possible provocation by North Korea, such as testing a nuclear weapon or ballistic missile during his trip, saying, “We are prepared for anything North Korea does.”
Asked if he had a message for the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, Biden offered a clipped response: “Hello. Period.” It was another sharp departure from Trump, who once said he “fell in love” with Kim.
Biden’s first appearance of the day was alongside Hyundai chairman Eusiun Chung to highlight the company’s expanded investment in the United States, including $5.5 billion for an electric vehicle and battery factory in Georgia.
Chung also said his company would spend another $5 billion on artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
The major U.S. investment by a South Korean company was a reflection of how the countries are leveraging their longstanding military ties into a broader economic partnership. Earlier in his trip, Biden toured a computer chip plant run by Samsung, the Korean electronics giant that plans to build a $17 billion production facility in Texas.
The pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has forced a rethinking of national security and economic alliances. Coronavirus outbreaks led to shortages of computer chips, autos and other goods that the Biden administration says can ultimately be eased by having more manufacturing domestically and with trusted allies.
During the Japan leg of Biden’s trip, he will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday and present his vision for negotiating a new trade agreement, the IndoPacific Economic Framework. A central theme for the trip is to tighten U.S. alliances in the Pacific to counter China’s influence in the region.