Biden to meet S.Korean President Moon next month

Washington, April 16 (IANS) US President Joe Biden will receive his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in the second half of May, the White House has said.Biden said recently his top foreign policy agenda was the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, whose rogue regime last month test-fired short-range ballistic missile.White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday said that a specific date for the Washington meeting has not yet been set, DPA news agency reported.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon boss Lloyd Austin travelled to Seoul last month.Austin had emphasized that the US alliance with South Korea "has never been more important" given the "unprecedented challenges" posed by North Korea's military provocations and China'a increasing drive for power in the Indo-Pacific region.On Friday, Biden will meet the leader of another critical US ally in East Asia, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.It will be Biden's first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader as president.
--IANS int/pgh