Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Tuesday vowed to strengthen the alliance with US under the incoming Joe Biden administration to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

She made the remark during an opening address of a meeting of related offices and academia to discuss policy direction and ways to strengthen US-South Korea alliance under the new Biden administration, a day before Biden is set to be inaugurated as the next US President on Wednesday. 

“We will establish a Korea-US alliance that solidifies peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” she said. “For the past four years, South Korea and the US, through close coordination, have made meaningful progress in denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishment of peace. By continuing the accumulated achievements and lessons, we will make even more progress through close cooperation with the Biden administration.”

Kang stressed that she will fine-tune policy towards North Korea with the new administration at the earliest and revive momentum of US-North Korea and inter-Korean talks, which have been stalled amid a stalemate in nuclear diplomacy. 

She also pledged to expand the alliance to tackle global challenges together, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. 

“US-Korea public health cooperation, based on our quarantine experience in COVID-19 and US’ global leadership, could overcome the urgent problem of pandemic and respond to future global health crisis,” she said. “Climate change is also the area where the US and Korea could actively cooperate.” 

Kang raised hope for close cooperation between Seoul and Washington with both countries led by Democratic presidents again, referring to the past experience of close ties to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula between former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and US President Bill Clinton. 

On Monday, President Moon Jae-in also pinned hope that the start of the Biden administration could be a turning point to start over the US-North Korea, inter-Korean talks, and added he will push for an early summit with Biden. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)