Visiting Washington to Attend NATO Summit
Scheduled as Sole Speaker at Public Forum
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are seen boarding Air Force One at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, USA, on the 9th (local time) before departing for Washington. [Image source=Yonhap News]
President Yoon Suk-yeol, currently on a tour of the United States, concluded his two-day visit to Hawaii on the 9th (local time) and departed for Washington D.C. to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.
On the same day, President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee boarded Air Force One at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, after being seen off by Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and General Paul LaCamera, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea.
During his visit to Hawaii, President Yoon visited the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the largest and most militarily significant regional unified combatant command of the U.S. military, to reaffirm the ROK-U.S. alliance and joint defense posture.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are heading to Air Force One, their private plane, at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii on the 9th (local time) to depart for Washington. [Image source=Yonhap News]
This marks the first visit by a South Korean president since the command was renamed Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018. In 1995, former President Kim Young-sam visited the then-Pacific Command, making this the first visit by a sitting president in 29 years.
Additionally, the previous day, President Yoon and First Lady Kim paid respects at the Pacific National Memorial Cemetery, a symbol of the ROK-U.S. alliance, and held a meeting with Korean-American community members.
From June 10 to 11 in Washington D.C., President Yoon is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from about ten countries including Japan, attend a social dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden and the First Lady, meet with the NATO Secretary General, participate in the NATO Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) partner meeting, and attend the NATO summit plenary sessions.
Notably, President Yoon will be the first South Korean president to participate as a sole speaker in the Indo-Pacific session at the NATO Public Forum. At this event, he is expected to diagnose the crisis factors in the global security order and discuss cooperation measures among NATO, South Korea, and the IP4 countries.
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