Biden seeks closer tech ties with Asia

United States President Joe Biden has kicked off a five-day tour of South Korea and Japan, designed to underscore his administration’s diplomatic and economic commitment to the region in the face of a rising China.

Biden promoted the close ties between the US and South Korea as he and South Korean President Yoon Sukyeol took turns promoting advancements in technology, illustrated by a Samsung factory that was Biden’s first official stop on the trip.

The Samsung facility will serve as a model for a plant the company is building near Austin, Texas, which will produce computer chips used in electronic items and will create about 3000 new jobs, according to the White House.

Yoon emphasised the two countries’ history working together on developing the semiconductor technology, which he said would be the ‘‘national security assets for our future’’.

Biden’s visit is taking place amid signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test or a long-range ballistic missile test as early as this week, according to intelligence from Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. It would be unusual for North Korea to conduct a missile test while a US president is on the Korean Peninsula.

US officials have said they are preparing for potential provocations while Biden is in South Korea or Japan.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Biden’s decision not to meet with

Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, at a time when China is holding military drills, illustrated ‘‘how much we prioritise alliances and partners in the Indo-Pacific region’’.

Biden’s visit to South Korea is an important early test of leadership for Yoon, who took office less than two weeks ago and is a first-time politician with no foreign policy experience.

The core of Yoon’s policy is strengthening the US-South Korean alliance and taking a more assertive role on the global

stage as the world’s 10th-largest economy, rather than shaping foreign policy goals solely related to the country’s volatile neighbour to the north.

The visit to the Samsung plant highlights the growing role South Korea is playing in the management of

the semiconductor supply chain, which the US has sought to strengthen as it looks for alternatives to depending on China for semiconductors and other technologies.