South Korea to host third 'Summit for Democracy' -joint statement

[March 29, 2023]  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will host a third "Summit for Democracy", President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a statement with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

U.S. President Joe Biden greets South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his visit to the Air Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

"The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in our common democratic values and respect for human rights, and we are committed to further strengthening our robust political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties," the statement said.

The plenary session of the second summit is to be held on Wednesday, involving 120 countries, civil society groups and technology companies in an event critics say illustrates the halting progress the Biden administration has made in advancing human rights and democracy as a focus of its foreign policy.

The second summit is being co-hosted by the United States, Costa Rica, Zambia, the Netherlands and South Korea.

It was not immediately clear when the next summit will be held or whether other countries will co-host the meeting.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

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