Ahead of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s state visit to the United States next month, a U.S. think tank suggested that South Korea should be included in the G7 and expanded to the G8 in order to strengthen the ROK-U.S. alliance.
In a report on the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance on the 10th (local time), Anthony Kim, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation, said, “The need to expand the G7 in the face of threats from China and Russia is more urgent than ever.” He deserves a place,” he stressed. At the same time, Joe Biden recommended to the US administration, “We need to establish a justification for expanding the G7 to the G8 by inviting Korea.” It is pointed out that the United States should promote a plan to expand the G8 with Korea as an official member by inviting President Yoon to the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan in May.
The G7 is a council in which the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and the European Union participate, leading major global issues. Korea has been invited as an observer to the 2020 and 2021 G7 summits.
Researcher Kim presented seven recommendations in the report, saying, “Korea is the best example of an alliance in action between the United States and the United States should build an advanced alliance for the coming decades.” First, along with the invitation to the G7, he pointed out that “South Korea’s practical participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should be promoted,” and that “Korea and NATO cooperation would be in the interests of the United States.” In addition, it was announced that Korea should be encouraged to participate in the ‘Three Seas Initiative (3SI)’, a consultative body of 12 former Soviet Union member states, including Poland and the Czech Republic. Along with this, the report suggested resolving concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in Korea, achieving practical results through the Korea-US summit, and delivering a speech by President Yoon to the US Congress.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.