President Yoon Lands in San Francisco for High-Stakes APEC Summit

Possibility of South Korea-China and South Korea-US-Japan Meeting

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in San Francisco, the United States, on November 15th (local time) to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

President Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, entered the country through San Francisco International Airport on Air Force One, the presidential aircraft.

Yoon’s first agenda is to attend a meeting with Korean compatriots. Also, he plans to attend the APEC CEO Summit and engage in a series of summit talks.

In light of the APEC meeting, observers are closely watching to see if President Yoon and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit since a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Xi is already scheduled.

According to Kyodo News, President Yoon will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in San Francisco on November 16th (local time).

In addition to a separate bilateral meeting, observers expect President Yoon to join Prime Minister Kishida during the APEC summit sessions and at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) summit on the 16th. Moreover, the two leaders will hold a roundtable on advanced technology cooperation at Stanford University in San Francisco on the 17th. This is the first time that the leaders of Korea and Japan are having a lecture-style meeting in a third country.

The meeting between President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida comes two months after the G20 summit held in New Delhi, India, in September.

By. Kang Do Won