President Joe Biden kicked off his trip to Asia by meeting South Korea's new President Yoon Seok-youl in the lobby of a Samsung micro-...
President Joe Biden kicked off his trip to Asia by meeting South Korea's new President Yoon Seok-youl in the lobby of a Samsung micro-chip facility Friday evening and taking a factory tour.
'This is an auspicious start to my visit, because it's emblematic of the future cooperation and innovation our nations can and must build together,' Biden said, delivering remarks alongside Yoon after touring two parts of the enormous Pyeongtaek facility.
Biden and Yoon, along with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, toured a floor of the facility and received a technical briefing on how semiconductor wafers are made.
Biden was told which components were American, with a representative from the California-based company KLA on hand to tell the president about his company's part of the process.
'Don't forget to vote Peter. You may live here, but don't forget to vote,' Biden told the worker after he gave his presentation during the tour.
Biden thanked President Yoon, although he stumbled over his name after getting it right the first time after a long flight.
'And President Moon – Yoon – you thank you everything you've done,' Biden said. Yoon's predecessor is President Moon Jae-in.
Biden also misstated the name of the facility in Taylor, Texas, where Samsung plans to spend billions. He called it Tyler, Texas.
President Joe Biden (right) arrives at the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus on Friday and greets South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol (left)
President Joe Biden (center) receives a tour Friday of the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in South Korea alongside (from left) Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong
President Joe Biden greets a worker at the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, South Korea on Friday, his first stop in Asia
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo as she and U.S. President Joe Biden visit a semiconductor factory
Biden lauded a Samsung investment in a new Texas factory
New South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol spoke after the tour of the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, South Korea
Biden landed at Osan Air Base Fearly Friday evening after stopping in Anchorage for a refueling stop.
The president wore a black face mask as he walked down the jetway as he entered a country that has been battling an increase in COVID-19 cases and has an indoor mask mandate.
It is Biden's first trip to Asia as president, and comes after he has been intensely focused on domestic issues including inflation, the pandemic, and the baby formula crisis – plus Russia's war on Ukraine.
En route, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was asked what it would mean for Biden's visit if North Korea conducts another ballistic missile or nuclear test while the president is here.
'This could cause the United States only to increase our fortitude in terms of defending our allies and cause adjustments to the way that our military is postured in the region,' Sullivan responded.
Air Force One with U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, May 20, 2022. The president will tour a Samsung factory at the start of his first trip to Asia as president
South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin greets U.S. President Joe Biden as he arrives at Osan Air Base (ROK) in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, May 20, 2022
'As far as the trip is concerned, I think all it would do is underscore, it would underscore one of the main messages that we are sending on this trip, which is that the United States is here for our allies and partners. We are here to help provide deterrence and defense for the ROK and Japan. We will respond to any threats and any aggression decisively,' he added.
North Korea has already conducted 15 ballistic missile tests this year, as well as seven nuclear tests.
South Korea’s spy agency has said North Korea has been making preparations for another test.
Sullivan warned Wednesday, before the start of the trip, that 'Our intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly both in the days leading into, on or after the president’s trip to the region.'
“We are preparing for all contingencies, including the possibility that such a provocation would occur while we are in Korea or in Japan,' he added.
Pedestrians walk past banners calling for strength of the South Korea-US alliance near the US embassy in Seoul on May 20, 2022, ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to South Korea
Biden toured the Samsung Electronics Co. semiconductor manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek
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