South Korea’s Yoon targets North Korea in address to Congress

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday appealed to a joint meeting of Congress to stand united with Seoul in the face of North Korea’s aggression, underscoring the peninsula’s priority threat in an increasingly dangerous world for global democracies. 

His remarks followed President Biden’s signing on Wednesday of a significant commitment to deploy U.S.-nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea’s nuclear provocations.

Still, the South Korean president sought to underscore to members from both sides of the aisle the deep and enduring ties between Washington and Seoul, marking 70 years of the alliance.

“Together with the U.S., Korea will play the role as a compass for freedom. It will safeguard and broaden the freedom of citizens of the world,” Yoon said. 

“But even as we walk in unison for freedom for 70 years, there is one regime determined to pursue a wrong path: that is North Korea.” 

Yoon described South Korea as a linchpin of security in the “Indo-Pacific era,” safeguarding freedom, democracy and economic growth, and he called for speeding up cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan as a key deterrent against North Korea. 

While Yoon called out North Korea’s ongoing nuclear weapons ambitions and condemned Russia’s invasion against Ukraine, his more than 40-minute speech did not directly address China, which the U.S. has labeled the most critical, global security challenge.

“Such authoritarian forces may conceal and disguise themselves as defenders of democracy or human rights. But in reality, they deny freedom and democracy. We must not be fooled by such deception and disguises.”

The Biden administration has focused on deepening its ties with countries in East and South Asia as a counter to China, repairing relations that were put under strain by former President Trump’s confrontational approach to allies in the region. 

There’s strong bipartisan support for an enduring U.S. and South Korean alliance. A resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the alliance was unanimously passed in the Senate on Wednesday.

Yoon, in his speech, highlighted the only four Korean American lawmakers in Congress — Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.), Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.).

“That’s two for each party. They are a testament to the alliance spanning generations,” he said. “It is a relief you are evenly praised across the aisle.”

The South Korean president’s state visit to the U.S. appeared to reap immense success for Seoul. It came despite embarrassment from Washington in which, weeks earlier, a shocking leak of American intelligence revealed U.S. spying into South Korean presidential conversations, in particular surrounding concern in providing weapons to Ukraine. 

Yoon addressed the intelligence leaks during a press conference with Biden on Wednesday, saying that he was “communicating” with the U.S. over the investigation into the leaks.

But the South Korean president also delivered moments of levity in his trip to Washington, serenading Biden, dignitaries and celebrity guests at the state dinner Wednesday night with a rendition of the song “American Pie.”

In his speech to Congress, Yoon pointed to the close cultural ties between South Korea and the U.S., highlighting the popular Netflix show “Squid Game,” the Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” and the popularity of K-pop groups like the boy band BTS, who met with Biden in May 2022. 

“BTS beat me to the White House, but I beat them to Capitol Hill,” Yoon joked.