S. Korean leader to support Biden's new economy grouping

SEOUL • South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has indicated that his new government will take part in a regional economic group US President Joe Biden is expected to soon unveil, in a show of support for the American leader days before he arrives in Seoul for talks.

Mr Yoon, who took office on May 10, yesterday told Parliament he wanted to discuss with Mr Biden when they meet later this week how his government can contribute to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (Ipef).

The pact is supposed to help coordinate regional supply chains, infrastructure and other areas.

Mr Yoon said his talks with Mr Biden will "include not only supply chain stabilisation measures, but also various economic security issues, such as the digital economy and carbon neutrality".

South Korea is a major producer of semiconductors and Mr Yoon has backed Mr Biden's supply chain initiatives.

The Ipef is part of the Biden administration's efforts to counter China's clout in Asia, following the US withdrawal from talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade agreement under former president Donald Trump.

Mr Biden is set to make the announcement about Ipef during his first visit to allies South Korea and Japan since taking office. The trip will run from May 20 to 24, the Sankei newspaper of Japan reported last week.

Details of the Ipef are hazy and the Biden administration has stressed that it would not include lower tariffs or better access to American markets.

Some in Congress have criticised the Ipef as lacking in substance, with senators from both parties blasting Mr Biden's trade agenda at a March hearing and grilling US Trade Representative Katherine Tai over a shortage of ambition to negotiate new agreements.

In his speech to Parliament, Mr Yoon also said he would spare no effort to help North Korea fight its Covid-19 outbreak, saying it was ready to provide vaccines and other medical support.

Seoul's Unification Ministry, responsible for cross-border relations, said it has proposed working-level talks to provide medical supplies, including vaccines, masks and test kits, as well as technical cooperation, but Pyongyang has not responded.

Mr Yoon said he would send humanitarian aid without political considerations, while expressing concerns over the North's recent missile launches and signs of preparations for what would be its first nuclear test since 2017.

"If North Korea responds, I would not save any necessary support for medicines, including Covid-19 vaccines, medical equipment and health personnel," he told Parliament.

North Korea is likely to need international assistance to get through the massive Omicron surge, said Dr Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, and will turn to China first, but maybe the US or South Korea if it gets desperate.

Pyongyang has previously rejected offers of Chinese-made vaccines, but leader Kim Jong Un has said the country will "actively learn" from Beijing's zero-Covid disease management approach.

BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE