President Biden to visit South Korea, Japan to discuss threats from China, North Korea

President Joe Biden will travel next month to South Korea and Japan, his first trip to Asia since taking office last year, to consult with allies on growing threats from China and North Korea.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the May 20-24 trip Wednesday. Both allies host significant US military contingents, and the trip comes as North Korea has escalated its nuclear missile testing and China has grown more assertive in the region.

The trip will advance the Biden administration’s “rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to U.S. treaty alliances” with South Korea and Japan, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

During Biden’s bilateral meetings with newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio he will “discuss opportunities to deepen our vital security relationships, enhance economic ties, and expand our close cooperation to deliver practical results,” Psaki went onto say.

In Tokyo, Biden will also meet with the leaders of the Quad grouping which additionally includes Australia, Japan and India.

The visit will come after a US-ASEAN special summit of South Asian leaders in Washington from May 12-13. It will be Biden’s fourth foreign trip as president. He recently traveled to Poland and Belgium in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.