US President Joe Biden tended to both business and security interests on Sunday as he wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea, showcasing Hyundai’s pledge to invest at least US$10 billion in electric vehicles and related technologies in the United States.
Before visiting US and South Korean troops monitoring the rapidly evolving North Korean nuclear threat, Biden said the US was ready for any provocation that Kim Jong-un might deliver.
“We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” the US president said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ve talked through how we’d respond to whatever they do so I am not concerned, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
Biden said he was not concerned about any possible provocation by North Korea while he is touring the region.
When asked if he had a message for Kim, he said: “Hello … period” – a wry response underscoring his administration’s low-key approach that stands in stark contrast with former President Donald Trump’s showy threats, summits, and “love letters” with Kim.
Hyundai’s US investment includes US$5.5 billion for an electric vehicle and battery factory in the state of Georgia.
Appearing with Biden, Hyundai CEO Euisun Chung said on Sunday that his company would spend another US$5 billion on artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
“Electric vehicles are good for our climate goals, but they’re also good for jobs,” Biden said. “And they’re good for business.”
The major US investment by a South Korean company is a reflection of how the US and South Korea are leveraging their long-standing military ties into a broader economic partnership.
Biden has made greater economic cooperation with South Korea a priority, saying on Saturday that “it will bring our two countries even closer together, cooperating even more closely than we already do, and help strengthen our supply chains, secure them against shocks and give our economies a competitive edge.”
The pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has forced a deeper rethinking of national security and economic alliances. Coronavirus outbreaks led to shortages of computer chips, autos and other goods that the Biden administration says can ultimately be fixed by having more manufacturing domestically and with trusted allies.
Biden’s meeting on Sunday with the Hyundai chief comes after the president made an earlier stop at a computer chip plant run by Samsung, the Korean electronics giant that plans to build a US$17 billion production facility in Texas.
Hyundai’s Georgia factory is expected to employ 8,100 workers and produce up to 300,000 vehicles annually, with plans for construction to begin early next year and production to start in 2025 near the unincorporated town of Ellabell.
Before meeting Hyundai’s CEO, Biden celebrated Mass at his hotel in Seoul along with some White House staff. He was also set to meet with service members and military families at Osan Air Base and address US and Korean troops. Biden and Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday announced they will consider expanded joint military exercises to deter the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
The push towards deterrence by Biden and Yoon marks a shift from their predecessors. Trump had considered scrapping military exercises while the last South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, remained committed to dialogue with Kim to the end of his term despite being repeatedly rebuffed by the North.
Biden decided to skip a visit to the demilitarised zone on the North and South’s border – a regular stop for US presidents when visiting Seoul, but one he had previously done when vice-president. Instead, Biden was more interested in visiting Osan to see an installation “where the rubber hits the road” for US and South Korean troops maintaining security on the Korean peninsula, said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Yoon campaigned on a promise to strengthen the US-South Korea relationship. He reiterated at a dinner on Saturday in Biden’s honour that it was his goal to move the relationship “beyond security” issues with North Korea, which have long dominated the relationship.
I will try and design a new future vision of our alliances with you, Mr. President
“I will try and design a new future vision of our alliances with you, Mr. President,” Yoon said.
Biden heads to Tokyo later on Sunday. On Monday, he will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and lay out his vision for negotiating a new trade agreement called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
A central theme for the trip, Biden’s first to Asia as president, is to tighten US alliances to counter China’s influence in the region.
But within the Biden administration, there’s an ongoing debate about whether to lift some of the US$360 billion in Trump-era tariffs on China. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said some of the tariffs are doing more harm to US business and consumers than they are to China.
Sullivan said the president’s national security and economic teams were still reviewing “how to move beyond the trade approach of the previous administration.”
On Tuesday, Japan will host Biden at a summit for the Quad, a four-country strategic alliance that also includes Australia and India. The US president will then return to Washington.
Additional reporting by Reuters