PRESIDENT BIDEN: Good morning, good morning, good morning. (Applause.) What a beautiful day to invite great friends back to the White House. And welcome to the White House.
Today, we celebrate the ironclad alliance, the shared vision of our future, and the deep friendship that unites the Republic of Korea and the United States.
President Yoon, Mrs. Kim, you were kind enough to host me in Seoul last year just ten days after your inauguration.
And Jill and I we’re honored to be able to return some of your hospitality with your second state visit to this administration.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the alliance between our two nations. It’s an unbreakable bond forged in bravery and the sacrifice of our people, sanctified by the blood of American and Korean troops who fought and defended liberty. And I’m proud we are joined today by veterans of the Korean War.
Those veterans are why we can stand here today –(applause) — two vibrant and innovative democracies. We stand as strong, proud, and free because of them.
And it’s so meaningful, Mr. President, to visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial with you last night, lay a wreath of remembrance, and fulfill a sacred obligation.
On September 1, 1950, Corporal Luther Story performed acts of bravery above and beyond all measure defending his brothers-in-arms on the Pusan Perimeter in the Korean — in the Korean War.
The last anyone saw of the Corporal, he was wounded, fighting off a vicious assault to protect his company’s withdrawal.
In 1951, his heroism was recognized with the Medal of Honor, but Corporal Story’s body was only accounted for now.
The Republic of Korea and the United States worked together to identify Corporal Story’s remains among those buried as a Korean War Unknown- — as a Korean War Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Today, we can return him to his family and rest with all the honors he deserves because we will never forget our heroes. (Applause.)
Mr. President, our alliance has grown stronger and more capable over the past seven decades. The cooperation between our people and our commitment to one another has grown deeper across every aspect of our partnership.
Today, our economies are on the vanguard of technological development; our nations are powerhouses of innovation; and our people, united still by our democratic values, are taking on the world’s challenges. We’re taking them on together.
We’re standing strong against Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, advancing an Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, building secure and resilient supply chains and pioneering the clean energy economy, investing together to ensure our future will be grounded in the values that we share, which have always — always — made us strong.
Mr. President, ours is a future filled with incredible opportunities and endless possibilities. Nothing — nothing — is beyond our ability to reach when our nations and our people stand united. We have proven that time and again over the last 70 years.
As our troops say, who still proudly serve together in the ROK, we go together.
