South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday he will solidify an alliance with the United States, build a powerful military and sternly cope with North Korean provocations, hours after he won a hard-fought election to become the country's next leader.
Yoon, a conservative whose single five-year term begins in May, said during the campaign that he would make a stronger alliance with the United States the center of his foreign policy. He accused outgoing liberal President Moon Jae-in of tilting toward North Korea and China and away from the U.S. He also stressed a need to recognize the strategic importance of repairing ties with Japan despite a bitter dispute over wartime history.
After his election win, he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden on the phone. According to a White House statement, Biden congratulated Yoon and emphasized the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea. It said the two also agreed to maintain close coordination in addressing threats posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
The two countries are both key U.S. allies and are closely linked economically and culturally, but their relations sank to postwar lows during Moon's presidency over disputes related to Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Lee and his allies attacked Yoon over his lack of experience in foreign policy and other state affairs.
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