Bipartisan congressional leaders invite South Korean president to speak before joint meeting of Congress
By Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN
A bipartisan group of congressional leaders has invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to speak before a joint session of Congress on April 27 to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the US and the Republic of Korea.
The invitation was extended to Yoon by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The leaders said Yoon’s visit would reaffirm the countries “shared commitment to democracy, economic prosperity, and global peace.”
“The relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea is one of great importance and significance. Your leadership has been instrumental in strengthening this partnership, and we believe the Joint Meeting would provide an ideal platform for you to share your vision for the future of the US- Korea alliance and to highlight the progress that has been made in recent years,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will also welcome Yoon and South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee to the White House during their visit to the US on April 26.
Yoon’s visit comes as US and South Korean forces recently held their largest war games in five years on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. At the start of the year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an “exponential increase” in his country’s nuclear weapons arsenal and his country has also been testing different missiles, including the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile last month and tests of smaller-range missiles.
In regard to Asia, US leaders have also shown bipartisan support of Taiwan in recent months.
McCarthy met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this week in California, and then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August and met with Tsai, a visit that prompted Beijing to hold large-scale military drills around the island.
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