Feb 4, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, agreed to upgrade their partnership and cooperate on strategy for North Korea, seeking to shore up an alliance shaken by Trump administration policies.
Biden and Moon agreed on the need to make a comprehensive policy toward Pyongyang and closely cooperate for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, South Korean presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a briefing Thursday after the call.
Moon also acknowledged the importance of U.S.-South Korea-Japan security cooperation, and discussed international issues relating to China and Myanmar, Kang added.
Ties between the allies were tested under U.S. President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused South Korea of short-changing the U.S and demanded a fivefold increase in payments to support the 28,500 American troops based there. In October, the Trump administration further strained the seven-decade-long alliance when, for the first time, it withheld the U.S. commitment to maintaining troop levels in South Korea.