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South Korean President Moon Jae-in waves his hand as he boards Code One at Seoul Air Base for his trip to Washington on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew to Washington on Thursday for a summit with US President Joe Biden. The two leaders will be discussing cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines and solutions to the North Korean nuclear issue during their summit at the White House on Friday.

Both of those issues are important in light of the domestic and international challenges facing South Korea. Hopefully, Moon’s visit to the US will lead to bilateral cooperation on vaccines and fresh progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“I will treat my visit to the US as an opportunity to strengthen vaccine cooperation and help [South Korea] become a global hub for vaccine production,” Moon said during a meeting at the Blue House on Monday. Those comments indicate that he is prioritizing a stable supply of vaccines, which is crucial for overcoming COVID-19 above other economic and foreign policy issues.

While the South Korean government says it has lined up enough vaccine to achieve herd immunity this November, the public remains anxious because the scheduled shipments are mostly clustered in the second half of the year.

If South Korea can set up a vaccine partnership that combines the US’ technical expertise in vaccine development with South Korea’s high-tech production facilities, it would help assuage that anxiety, as well as political bickering.

In that respect, it’s significant that Kurt Campbell, the Indo-Pacific coordinator at the White House National Security Council, expressed his confidence that Biden and Moon would discuss ways to aid South Korea in its fight with COVID-19.

Given South Korea’s cutting-edge bioscience technology and facilities, strategic cooperation with South Korea would also benefit the US as it takes measures to support the international campaign against the pandemic.

Just as important as the vaccine is bringing North Korea back to dialogue about peace on the Korean Peninsula. That won’t be easy to accomplish through the will and effort of any one country, whether that be South Korea or the US. The two countries must work together for their efforts to bear fruit.

Campbell said the US is prepared to work on realistic measures, adding that “our efforts will build on Singapore and other agreements made by previous administrations.”

It’s encouraging and fortunate that the Biden administration broadly shares the perspective of the South Korean government on the North Korean nuclear issue. But the crucial thing is persuading North Korea to come to the negotiating table. There needs to be a clear and meaningful expression of the two leaders’ commitment to that during their summit.

This summit is the subject of especially keen interest since it’s being held during an unprecedented pandemic and at a time of increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We hope that Biden and Moon’s first meeting will lead to definite progress on peace and vaccines.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]