Yoon Meeting Harris During Visit to Korea, Likely to Reiterate IRA Emphasis

US Vice President to Visit President Yoon Tomorrow
Meeting Top Two US Leaders Within a Week
Discussing North Korea and Economic Partnerships

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Suk-yeol will meet both the first and second highest-ranking officials in the U.S. government within a week. On the 22nd, President Yoon held a conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden in New York, and on the 29th, he will meet U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is visiting Korea, to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other matters.

According to the Blue House and the White House on the 28th, Vice President Harris will pay a courtesy call on President Yoon as her first schedule after arriving in Korea. It is expected that the two will discuss issues including North Korea, economic and technological partnerships between the two countries, and various regional and global issues.

Particular attention is being paid to whether there will be progress in discussions related to the IRA, which has sparked controversy over discrimination against Korean electric vehicles. Previously, when President Yoon visited New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, he met President Biden three times to request a resolution to the IRA issue.

President Biden reportedly stated that "serious consultations will be held." Vice President Harris also expressed a proactive stance during her meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Japan the day before, saying, "We will seek solutions."

Accordingly, following President Biden, President Yoon is expected to actively urge Vice President Harris, the second highest-ranking official in the U.S. government, to minimize the damage to Korean electric vehicles caused by the IRA.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, head of the condolence delegation for the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited Japan to attend the state funeral, at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo on the 27th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

There will likely be focused discussions on responding to security threats on the Korean Peninsula such as North Korea's nuclear and missile development, strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and cooperation for stability in the Taiwan Strait and Northeast Asian security. After her courtesy call on President Yoon, Vice President Harris is also scheduled to visit Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to emphasize the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance.

With the South Korean and U.S. navies conducting joint exercises in international waters for four days starting from the 26th, the White House explained the significance of Vice President Harris’s visit to the DMZ by stating that it will "emphasize the U.S. commitment to stand with South Korea against any threats from North Korea."

The Blue House, however, is taking a cautious stance, saying that no agenda was set in advance for this visit. A National Security Office official stated, "Since Vice President Harris is paying a courtesy call on President Yoon, no specific topics will be predetermined, and they will freely discuss relevant current issues."