(NewsNation) — Presidents Joe Biden of the USA and Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea on Wednesday will signal an settlement to have U.S. nuclear-armed submarines docked within the Asian nation for the primary time in 40 years.
That is Biden’s third bilateral assembly with Yoon, and it comes at a second of heightened nervousness for each leaders over an elevated tempo of ballistic missile exams by North Korea during the last a number of months.
Right here’s a take a look at the connection of the 2 nations thus far:
Safety
There are 28,500 U.S. Troops in South Korea, and it is among the U.S.’ most essential geopolitical and military-strategic companions.
Signed in 1953 on the finish of the Korean Battle, the U.S.-Republic of Korea Mutual Protection Treaty commits the USA to serving to South Korea defend itself — notably from its neighbor to the North. South Korea has historically paid for about 50%, or over $800 million yearly, of the overall nonpersonnel prices of the U.S. army presence.
Though strained beneath former President Donald Trump, the Biden administration has labored to restore the alliance between North Korea and U.S. This prompted the a hundred and fifteenth and 116th Congresses to impose situations through the Nationwide Protection Authorization Acts to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea.
In 2021, the Biden administration concluded a cost-sharing negotiation with South Korea that boosted the nation’s contribution to alliance prices by 13.9%.
Commerce
South Korea is among the United States’ most essential financial companions in Asia. The financial relationship is bolstered by the U.S.-South Korea Free Commerce Settlement, or KORUS FTA, which was carried out in 2012.
In 2022, South Korea was the USA’ seventh-largest buying and selling associate for items and providers mixed.
The connection is reciprocal, although — in 2022, the U.S. was South Korea’s second-largest buying and selling associate.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
