US President Joe Biden reaffirmed the US promise to defend Japan on the 13th local time.
President Biden said at a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington, DC, that the United States strongly supports Japan's defense commitments.
He also mentioned that he would like to thank Prime Minister Kishida for his strong leadership, which has been closely collaborating on technical and economic issues.
President Biden said, "I completely agree," referring to Prime Minister Kishida's remarks to him during his visit to Japan in May of last year that'the two countries share fundamental values'.
At the same time, he added, he hoped that the meeting would discuss ways to continue advancing the common goals and values of the two countries.
"I don't think our two countries have ever been closer than they are now," he said. "The United States is completely and completely committed to our alliance."
In response, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude for President Biden's hospitality and efforts for regional security.
He said the new defense strategy recently adopted by Japan would contribute to strengthening deterrence with the United States, saying that the United States and Japan are facing a challenging and complex security environment.
At the end of last year, the Japanese government discussed missile threats from neighboring countries such as China and North Korea and decided to possess counterattack capabilities that can strike enemy missile bases through revision of security strategy documents such as the National Security Strategy.
Prime Minister Kishida repeatedly mentioned that he is grateful for the cooperation of the United States, saying that many achievements have been achieved through bilateral and trilateral talks between Korea, the United States and Japan.
President Biden called Prime Minister Kishida a "true leader and friend," and Prime Minister Kishida called President Biden a "valued friend."
The summit between President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida took place two months after they met face-to-face at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia in November last year.
This is Prime Minister Kishida's first visit to the White House.
The talks were attended by US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and National Security Director Takeo Akiba. I did.
(Photo = Getty Image Korea)