hankyoreh

President Yoon Suk-yeol sits in the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, during his interview with Reuters on April 18. (Reuters/Yonhap)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol departed on Monday for a state visit to the US.

The presidential office said the focus of the nearly week-long visit would be on “expanding the content and scope of the global comprehensive strategic alliance.” More concretely, this means beefing up South Korea-US extended deterrence against the North Korean nuclear and missile threats, fleshing out aspects of economic security cooperation, increasing support for interchange among future generations, and exploring avenues for coordination on global tasks.

But in the wake of recent remarks in an interview with the foreign press, Yoon also finds himself saddled with issues concerning lethal weapon aid to Ukraine and vehement objections from Russia and China. Also, while he desperately needs to generate practical results in the area of economic security, he faces difficulties in overcoming the barriers of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and CHIPS and Science Act, both of which prioritize American interests.

According to the presidential office, the most anticipated outcome of the summit set for Wednesday will be strengthening extended deterrence.

“Security comes first between South Korea and the US and strengthening extended deterrence will be the most important and biggest outcome,” a key presidential office official told the Hankyoreh on Sunday.

Citing a senior US official, an article published by Reuters on Friday stated that President Joe Biden will pledge “substantial” steps to underscore the US commitment to deter a North Korean nuclear attack on South Korea at the upcoming summit. Such a promise would follow Biden’s pledge last November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to strengthen extended deterrence.

Extended deterrence refers to the US “nuclear umbrella,” such as US tactical nuclear weapons, that protect allies by deterring potential nuclear attacks from enemies.

South Korea and the US are deepening their cooperation on possible measures for dealing with North Korea amidst the latter’s recent firing of its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, and Kim Jong-un\'s ordering for the launch of the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite.

In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Yoon made clear his desired security policy line. “In terms of responding to a powerful nuclear attack, I think stronger measures than what NATO has should be prepared,” Yoon told the outlet. Yoon also said that Seoul and Washington are currently focusing on bilateral measures to strengthen information-sharing, joint contingency planning, and joint execution of plans.

After a series of recent controversies over the Yoon administration’s diplomatic dealings — namely, its obsequient response to the alleged wiretapping of South Korean National Security Office official by the US, as well as backlash from China and Russia due to recent remarks made by Yoon — the South Korean presidential office appears hopeful that it can minimize criticism by having its delegation develop a plan to strengthen extended deterrence and emphasize the security and intelligence alliance between South Korea and the US at this upcoming summit.

Some also say that South Korean arms support for Ukraine may be discussed behind closed doors as part of achieving the main goal of the summit, which is to strengthen extended deterrence. Still, the presidential office is maintaining its original position that lethal aid to Ukraine is not an official agenda topic for the summit.

However, Ellen Kim, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday that the situation in Ukraine will be discussed by the two leaders “given the importance of this issue and the implication for Korea.”

In the interview with Reuters, Yoon raised the possibility of South Korea providing lethal aid to Ukraine in the case of a large-scale civilian attack or other preconditions.

Besides security, Yoon is also paying as much attention to the economic agenda. This is illustrated by his decision to bring a delegation of 122 business officials with him on his visit to the US.

However, the US is still pushing ahead with the IRA and the Chips and Science Act to further isolate China in the high-tech sector, a move that inevitably hurts South Korean companies. As such, it seems unlikely that a special exemption will be made for South Korea as a result of this summit.

To this point, Choi Sang-mok, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said Wednesday, “I don’t think we are in a situation to talk about specifics [related to these issues] at this summit” but added, “If the leaders need a comprehensive cooperation plan I think there could be discussions.”

However, South Korea and the US are likely to not go further than expressing a will to address Seoul’s concerns related to these laws rather than coming up with specific solutions.

Regarding global issues, if the two leaders condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine or reaffirm their opposition to a change in the status quo by force in the Taiwan Strait, backlash from China and Russia is expected to further intensify.

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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