WASHINGTON, April 27, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - From discussing nuclear war to
belting out a beloved hit: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's White House
visit ended on a high note when he sang Don McLean's "American Pie" to great
applause.

Yoon is on a six-day state visit to Washington, where he discussed with US
President Joe Biden on Wednesday "the end" of any North Korean regime that
used nuclear weapons against the allies.

But the two leaders had more cheerful topics on the agenda at the White House
state dinner in Yoon's honor later that day, with the South Korean leader --
who is known at home to be something of a karaoke buff -- sharing his love of
American music.

"We know this is one of your favorite songs, 'American Pie,'" Biden said to
Yoon, having pulled him up onto the stage at the end of the evening to listen
to singers perform the classic.

"Yes, that's true," the 62-year-old Yoon admitted, saying that he had loved
the Don McLean song, released in 1971, since he was at school.

"We want to hear you sing it," said Biden.

"It's been a while but..." Yoon responded, offering only token resistance as
he took the microphone.

Yoon belted out the first few lines of the song a capella, triggering
rapturous applause from the crowd and delighting Biden and the First Lady.

"The next state dinner we're going to have, you're looking at the
entertainment," Biden told the crowd, referring to Yoon.

Then he turned to the South Korean president and said: "I had no damn idea
you could sing."

Biden told Yoon that McLean could not be at the White House to join them but
had sent a signed guitar, which the US president gifted to the South Korean
leader.

"Yoon literally tore up the stage and White House!" one Twitter user wrote in
Korean in reply to a video of the president singing.

"Yoon has revealed his hidden singing talent," another commenter wrote, also
in Korean, resharing the video.

It is not Yoon's first time singing in public.

On the campaign trail in 2021, he appeared on the famous South Korean TV show
"All the Butlers", wowing its celebrity hosts with a sparkling rendition of
the K-pop ballad "No one else" by Lee Seung-chul.