SEOUL, President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States next month will be a "historic turning point" for the bilateral alliance as the two countries look to protect their people, defend core values and advance into the future, his office said Wednesday.
The White House said Tuesday (local time) U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee for a state visit, including a state dinner, on April 26.
The visit will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the bilateral alliance.
The two leaders "are expected to celebrate the achievements of the South Korea-U.S. alliance built up over the past 70 years and hold in-depth discussions on the direction of the alliance's future development," senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said in a statement.
The leaders are expected to produce "detailed and practical cooperation measures" across diverse areas, including on the allies' combined defense posture and extended deterrence, future advanced technologies and economic security, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and regional and global challenges, Kim said.
"President Yoon's state visit to the U.S. will be a historic turning for the South Korea-U.S. alliance, which is considered one of the most successful alliances in history, to evolve more actively in the face of rapidly changing international affairs and uncertainties of the future," she said.
"Through this, we expect to realize a 'South Korea-U.S. alliance in action' that protects the lives and safety of the two countries' peoples, defends core values and advances toward the future," she added.
Yoon will be the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to Washington since President Lee Myung-bak in 2011.
Source: Yonhap News Agency