Leaders from both houses of Congress have invited the president of South Korea to address a joint meeting of Congress, a move aimed at reaffirming the historic alliance between that nation and the United States.
“With this year marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance between our two countries, it is an especially important time to reflect on the achievements of our partnership and to reaffirm our shared commitment to democracy, economic prosperity, and global peace,” the leaders wrote in an April 4 letter to President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the invitation on April 6, which was jointly issued by McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The address will take place on April 27. President Joe Biden will host Yoon for a state dinner on April 26.
The invitation comes at a time when the United States is showing bipartisan support for strengthening alliances in Asia in the wake of aggressive acts by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Across much of the Indo-Pacific region, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using military and economic coercion to bully its neighbors, advance unlawful maritime claims, threaten maritime shipping lanes, and destabilize territory along the periphery of the People’s Republic of China,” the U.S. State Department warned in a 2021 statement.
A Chinese spy balloon was detected transiting the United States in January and subsequently shot down.
Taiwan President’s Unofficial Visit
The invitation to President Yoon of South Korea was announced one day after McCarthy met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California, drawing condemnation from the CCP.The island of Taiwan is claimed as part of the People’s Republic of China by the CCP.
McCarthy is the highest-ranking U.S. leader to meet with a Taiwanese president on U.S. soil. Jeffries met with Tsai in New York on March 30. Both visits occurred during what were billed as stopovers during Tsai’s 10-day tour of Central America.
Congress occasionally invites foreign leaders to address a joint meeting to reinforce alliances.
A joint meeting of Congress is less formal than a joint session. Joint meetings are usually convened to hear an address from a foreign visitor, whereas joint sessions typically involve an address by the U.S. president or to conduct official congressional business.
The invitation to Yoon marks the first joint meeting of the 118th Congress.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece, addressed a joint meeting in May 2002, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, addressed one in December.
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