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US President Joe Biden left for South Korea and Japan on Thursday to solidify US leadership in Asia at a time when the White House’s focus has shifted back to Russia and Europe – and amid concerns of a North Korean nuclear test during his trip. Biden intends for the trip to build on recent moves that have accelerated the United States’ years-long pivot to Asia, where rising Chinese commercial and military strength is undermining Washington’s dominance.
However, highlighting competing European demands, Biden met with the leaders of Finland and Sweden just before his departure to celebrate their applications for NATO membership – a seismic advancement sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In another sign of the US’s growing involvement in the conflict, the White House said Biden would sign a massive $40 billion Ukraine weapons and aid package passed by Congress on Thursday while in Asia.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Seoul that signing the bill “immediately” will ensure there is no lapse in funding.
However, a separate crisis awaits Biden upon his arrival: fears that North Korea’s unforeseen leadership will use his visit to test a nuclear-capable missile or even a nuclear explosion.
According to Sullivan, there is a “real risk of some kind of incitement while we’re in the region, whether it be in South Korea or Japan.”
“We know how we will respond to them. We have communicated with China as well as our allies “He stated.
On Sunday, Biden will fly from South Korea to Japan. While in Tokyo, he will meet with the two leaders and attend a regional summit of the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States).
During the first leg, he will visit US and South Korean troops but will not travel to the fortified border known as the DMZ between South and North Korea, according to the White House.
