May 20, 2022

US President Joe Biden arrived in Seoul on Friday to kick off his first Asia trip and was scheduled to have the first summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on a string of issues, and analysts said Biden may use the US-led Indo-Pacific economic framework and threats from North Korea as acting points to further pull South Korea closer. However, what benefits a geopolitical tool will bring to South Korea remains a question and many people alerted that standing unconditionally with the US will not maximize South Korea's interests. 

According to Yonhap News, after Biden arrived, he and Yoon visited a Samsung chip plant in Pyeongtaek, "underscoring the two countries' commitment to working together to strengthen supply chains." On Saturday, Biden and Yoon will meet again to discuss the full range of security and economic challenges facing them and the region. 

Biden's visit, which came 10 days after Yoon took his oath as South Korea's president, is the second time for a US president to visit South Korea ahead of the new South Korea president's visit to the US since 1993, and it's also rare to see US president make South Korea the first destination before Japan in an Asia trip. Some observers said such arrangements underscored Biden's scheme to pull South Korea into its strategies to contain China. 

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