Yoon, Pence meet for 2nd time in S. Korea

Diplomacy 13:11 March 26, 2022

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has met with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for a second time in Seoul and the first since Yoon's election, and had broad discussions on security and alliance issues, party officials said Saturday.

The two-hour breakfast meeting between Yoon and Pence took place at a hotel in Seoul on Friday, according to party officials familiar with the matter. Pence was visiting Seoul to speak at a session on international affairs.

The two had their first encounter in February, a couple of weeks before the March 9 election, when Yoon was a presidential front-runner.

The second meeting came as the two had "promised to meet again," after the election, a party official said.

At Friday's meeting, Yoon and Pence exchanged ways to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and general views about current international situations, according to party officials.

They also shared opinions about North Korean issues, in the wake of the North's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.

Pence is known for his hawkish stance on North Korea.

He also made a Twitter post about the meeting.

"President-elect Yoon is a champion for Freedom and will strengthen the unbreakable bond between the United States and the Republic of Korea for generations to come!" the tweet read.