Current:Home > NewsSouth Korea’s president gets royal welcome on UK state visit before talks on trade and technology-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
South Korea’s president gets royal welcome on UK state visit before talks on trade and technology
View Date:2025-01-12 10:43:11
LONDON (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was greeted by Britain’s King Charles III and a military honor guard on Tuesday at the start of a state visit aimed at strengthening trade and defense ties between the two countries.
The U.K. government hopes the Korean leader’s formal three-day visit will help cement an “ Indo-Pacific tilt ” in its foreign and trade policy.
The king and Queen Camilla greeted Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee at Horse Guards Parade, a military parade ground in central London. Heir to the throne Prince William and government ministers also attended the welcome ceremony, where the king and president inspected rows of soldiers from the Scots Guards in grey tunics and bearskin hats.
The visiting couple traveled by horse-drawn coach down an avenue lined with British and Korean flags to Buckingham Palace. The king is due to host a state banquet for the guests at the palace on Tuesday evening.
Yoon also is scheduled to address Parliament and to hold talks Wednesday with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak focused on trade, technology and defense. A defense agreement will see the two countries’ navies work together to curb smuggling and to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea to curb its nuclear weapons ambitions.
U.K. and Korean officials also will officially launch talks on an “upgraded” free trade agreement to replace their current deal, which largely replicates the arrangements the U.K. had before it left the European Union.
Britain has launched trade talks with several countries since leaving the EU in 2020, though it has finalized deals only with Australia and New Zealand. The U.K. also has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, an Asia-Pacific trade bloc that includes Japan and 10 other nations.
Sunak and Yoon are expected to sign an agreement covering cooperation in defense and technology, including artificial intelligence. Britain hosted the first international AI Safety Summit this month, and South Korea intends to hold a follow-up event next year.
Britain also plans to invest in South Korean semiconductor manufacturing as part of international efforts to diversify the supply of the key computer components. Many of the advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, and the coronavirus pandemic and an increasingly assertive China have heightened concerns about future supply.
Sunak said agreements made during Yoon’s visit would “drive investment, boost trade and build a friendship that not only supports global stability, but protects our interests and lasts the test of time.”
veryGood! (433)
Related
- Advocates Expect Maryland to Drive Climate Action When Trump Returns to Washington
- 3 ways to protect your money if the U.S. defaults on its debt
- Germany's economy contracts, signaling a recession
- All of You Will Love Chrissy Teigen’s Adorable Footage of Her and John Legend’s 4 Kids
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- Soaring pasta prices caused a crisis in Italy. What can the U.S. learn from it?
- Every Hour, This Gas Storage Station Sends Half a Ton of Methane Into the Atmosphere
- Kendall Jenner and Ex Devin Booker Attend Same Star-Studded Fourth of July Party
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- Taco John's trademarked 'Taco Tuesday' in 1989. Now Taco Bell is fighting it
Ranking
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- Biden is counting on Shalanda Young to cut a spending deal Republicans can live with
- At COP27, the US Said It Will Lead Efforts to Halt Deforestation. But at Home, the Biden Administration Is Considering Massive Old Growth Logging Projects
- See the Moment Meghan Trainor's Son Riley Met His Baby Brother
- Philadelphia mass transit users face fare hikes of more than 20% and possible service cuts
- So would a U.S. default really be that bad? Yes — And here's why
- Rosie O'Donnell Shares Update on Madonna After Hospitalization
- Score Up to 60% Off On Good American Jeans, Dresses, and More At Nordstrom Rack
Recommendation
-
Are Dancing with the Stars’ Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber Living Together? She Says…
-
In Jacobabad, One of the Hottest Cities on the Planet, a Heat Wave Is Pushing the Limits of Human Livability
-
Durable and enduring, blue jeans turn 150
-
Inside Clean Energy: In the Year of the Electric Truck, Some Real Talk from Texas Auto Dealers
-
2025 Medicare Part B premium increase outpaces both Social Security COLA and inflation
-
Red, White and Royal Blue Trailer: You’ll Bow Down to This Steamy Romance
-
Khloe Kardashian Shares Rare Photo of Baby Boy Tatum in Full Summer Mode
-
A Natural Ecology Lab Along the Delaware River in the First State to Require K-12 Climate Education