WASHINGTON, April  26, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - President Joe Biden hosted his 
South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit Wednesday at which 
they will announce a beefed-up US nuclear shield for Washington's vital ally in 
the face of an aggressive North Korea.

 A military honor guard and hundreds of guests massed outside the White 
House where Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, arrived for a day of pomp and 
ceremony -- and far-reaching geostrategic discussions.

 Standing alongside Yoon, Biden lauded what he called the "unbreakable bond" 
of the countries' "iron-clad alliance," forged in the Korean War seven decades 
ago.

 Today, the allies are economic powerhouses and partners in keeping a "free 
and open" Asia-Pacific region, Biden said, adding: "Ours is a future filled 
with unimaginable opportunities."

 Biden later told Yoon at the start of their Oval Office talks that "we're 
doubling down on our cooperation as allies even as (North Korea) ramps up its 
challenges."

 Yoon responded by saying that the US-South Korean alliance is not 
"contractual" but an "everlasting partnership."

 Ahead of Yoon's arrival, senior US officials told reporters that the two 
leaders would announce measures to reinforce deterrence against North Korea, 
including the first deployment of a US nuclear missile submarine to the country 
in decades.

 What will be known as the Washington Declaration will also create a 
US-South Korean consultative group, giving Seoul more information and input on 
nuclear policy -- although Washington will retain sole command of its weapons, 
officials said.

 The arrangement -- responding to ever-growing tension over communist North 
Korea's missile tests and nuclear arsenal -- echoes moves last seen when 
Washington oversaw the defense of Europe against the Soviet Union.

 "The United States has not taken these steps, really, since the height of 
the Cold War with our very closest handful of allies in Europe. And we are 
seeking to ensure that by undertaking these new procedures, these new steps, 
that our commitment to extended deterrence is unquestionable," a senior 
official said.

 The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that there are 
no plans to station US nuclear weapons in South Korea -- a difference from the 
Cold War, when US strategic weapons were deployed to Europe. 

 In addition, Seoul will reiterate its pledge in the declaration not to seek 
its own nuclear arsenal.

       
       - Submarine, aircraft carriers -
          
  "We'll announce that we intend to take steps to make our deterrence more 
visible through the regular deployment of strategic assets, including a US 
nuclear ballistic submarine visit to South Korea, which has not happened since 
the early 1980s," an official said.

 In addition to submarines, there will be a "regular cadence" of other major 
platforms, "including bombers or aircraft carriers," the official said, 
emphasizing however that there will be "no basing of those assets and certainly 
not nuclear weapons."

 An official said that steps are being taken in advance to defuse potential 
tensions with Beijing over the tougher military posture.

 "We are briefing the Chinese in advance and laying out very clearly our 
rationale for why we are taking these steps," the official said, adding that 
the Biden administration is "disappointed that China has been unprepared to use 
its influence" on North Korea.

 Yoon is only the second foreign leader invited for a state visit by Biden. 
A day filled with high-level meetings and ceremony will conclude with a lavish 
state dinner in the historic East Room.

 Yoon will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday and have lunch 
with US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. On 
Friday, he will visit MIT and Harvard University in Boston, before returning 
home on Saturday.

 On Tuesday, Yoon and Biden visited the Korean War Memorial, which features 
life-sized steel statues of US soldiers marching during the 1950-53 war against 
the communist north. 

 Yoon also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington 
National Cemetery and joined Harris for a tour of a NASA facility near 
Washington.