United States: South Korean President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol visited a NASA flight center, coinciding with the signing of a joint statement between his country and the United States to enhance their cooperation in technology and space exploration.

During a speech at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, South Korean President Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his long-standing conviction that the future of humanity lies in space. The President was accompanied by US Vice President Ms. Kamala Harris.

President Yoon emphasized his ambition to establish South Korea as a global leader in space technology, with aspirations to achieve resource extraction on the moon by 2032 and to send astronauts to Mars by 2045. His vision is to position South Korea among the top five countries in the world in terms of space technology.

Mr. Yoon’s visit to the NASA space flight center, which is one of the agency’s earliest research facilities, commenced his six-day tour of the United States. His trip includes an official visit to the White House on Wednesday to meet with his US counterpart, President Ms. Joe Biden.

This visit marks the first state visit to Washington, DC by South Korea in almost 12 years, and it is also the first state visit by a leader from the Indo-Pacific region during President Mr. Biden’s term in office. Mr. Yoon’s tour has been scheduled to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty, which cemented the alliance between South Korea and the United States. During his visit, he joined President Biden to pay respects to fallen military personnel at the Arlington National Cemetery and also visited the Korean War Memorial.

During his stay in the US, President Mr. Yoon is expected to advocate for stronger economic collaboration between South Korea and the United States. Prior to his initial meeting with Mr. Biden, he urged for the two countries’ alliance to “advance into a new era” and “develop into a supply chain and innovation-oriented technology alliance.”

Mr. Yoon’s visit coincided with the announcement of several notable agreements between industries in the United States and South Korea.

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