Pool Reports by Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times
| Sent: | Reports: |
| May 21, 2022 12:51 KST |
Travel pool #1 — rolling to cemetery The motorcade left RON at 12:49 pm. We are headed to the Seoul National Cemetery, where President Biden will lay a wreath to honor ROK's war dead. Pool did not see Biden leave the hotel. |
| May 21, 2022 13:03 KST |
Travel pool 2 — arrive at cemetery The motorcade arrived at the cemetery at 1 pm. Near the entrance we saw large groups of people waving American and Korean flags, some of which displayed pictures of Biden and Yoon. There may have been protesters as well. |
| May 21, 2022 13:17 KST |
Travel pool 3 — wreath ceremony Biden, in dark suit and white gloves, walked with one man and two women down a long stone path. Honor guards lined the sides. He arrived and put both hands on a wreath before two military officials picked it up and brought it closer to the memorial. The president then sprinkled three pinches of ash from incense into an urn on a red carpet He stood silent with his head down as two members of the guard saluted the wreath from either side and three trumpets played solemn notes. Pool could not hear the ceremonial remarks made by his escorts. He then walked down the path. He then signed a guest book before leaving. The entire ceremony took about six minutes. I'll tweet a picture of the pagoda at the front of the cemetery. We are now rolling toward the People's House for the bilat. . Background from White House: The President is participating in a wreath laying cemetery at the Seoul National Cemetery to honor the sacrifice of Koreans who died to protect their country, including the soldiers who lost their lives in the Korean War. Participating in the wreath laying with the President: Background on the Seoul National Cemetery: Established in 1955, the Seoul National Cemetery is where approximately 165,000 South Korean historical figures, patriots, soldiers, police officers, and citizens who died in service of or dedicated their lives to the defense and development of their country are buried. The cemetery is located on a 353-acre plot of land that overlooks the Han River in the front and is surrounded in the back by the sacred Dongjak mountain ridgeline. The wreath laying ceremony will be held at the altar of the Memorial Tower (or Hyeonchungtap), which is the most symbolic monument within the Seoul National Cemetery. The 102-foot-high Memorial Tower is in the shape of a cardinal cross to symbolize the protection of the four cardinal points (North, South, East, and West). Enshrined within the Memorial Tower are tablets documenting approximately 104,000 soldiers who died during the Korean War but whose bodies were never found, along with the remains of approximately 7,000 unknown soldiers. |
| May 21, 2022 13:30 KST |
Pool report 4 — People's House arrival Pool arrived at the People's House at 1:25. POTUS walked out of the beast at 127 wearing a black mask. He stepped onto a red carpet staircase and shook hands with President Yoon before walking inside the People's House. A colorfully red dressed marching band played There will be a bilateral meeting with President Yoon and a joint conference. |
| May 21, 2022 15:22 KST |
Travel pool 5 — expanded bilat spray Yoon led Biden in at 3:09 and ushered him around the Korean side of the table where biden shook hands with people and asked "where do we start?" They then walked around the American side and Yoon shook hands with the delegation. "We settled everything," biden joked, apparently referring to the earlier meeting the two had. They then sat down across from each other in the middle of the table and Yoon spoke in Korean. He said we are living in an era of economy security and said the ROK-US alliance needs to evolve to the moment. He then talked about the factory from yesterday as a model. He said today they would discuss how to meet global challenges. Biden thanked him and congratulated him. "Our alliances between our countries is built upon shared sacrifice.." Today with this visit we're taking the cooperation between our two countries to new heights..." He said the alliance for decades has been a lynchpin of security and remains essential, mentioning the North Korea threat. "Today our cooperation is essential... on the global stage as well." Two nations working on Covid, supply chain, climate and security. And "writing the rules of the road" for Indo Pacific. He said he enjoyed the time and noted how long they spent together making others wait. Pool ushered out at 3:17 as shouted questions on Norrh Korea were ignored. Here's some extra color gathered during a lengthy wait for the principals. The room has a long wood table with 10 seats on each side. Three flags from each country -- alternating -- are on the back of the room. Each seat has a name card, a glass of water and a notebook. (Biden the only US official without name place card.) The president had a notebook and note pad in front of him. Some staffers including Kate Bedingfield and Secretary Raimondo came in early and chatted with other staffers. At 2:04, some staffers including Yohannes Abraham, chief of staff for NSC and incoming ASEAN ambassador, walked to the other side of the room to speak with South Korean officials, breaching a divide in the room between the two delegations. Someone appeared to congratulate him on his ambassadorship, which he seemed to appreciate. More staffers piled in later, including Jake Sullivan, seen laughing and talking about where his office is located, with the Korean official seated across from him at 2:50 pm. The Korean official was overheard saying to him that "I've met the Japanese prime minister... he's a great guy." The banter continued for some time. The Korean official began relaying historic facts, the year 1882 and other topics. Jake Sullivan at one point exclaimed "Genius!" The restricted bilateral began earlier -- 1:32 pm per staff. Note: @jenniferjjacobs tweeted a picture of the note POTUS wrote at the cemetery. Noteb: the People's House where the meeting is being held is technically within the South Korean Defense Ministry, part of a recent office move initiated by Yoon. Participating in the President's bilateral meeting with President Yoon: U.S. Manifest: Republic of Korea Manifest: |
| May 21, 2022 16:20 KST |
Travel pool 6 — press conference, brief notes The press conference is about to begin and is being live-streamed. The extended bilat ended at 3:19 per White House. Clarification: the last report called Yohannes Abraham the incoming ASEAN ambassador. He has been nominated but not confirmed. |
| May 21, 2022 16:53 KST |
Travel pool 7 — presser ends Press conference is over. The motorcade will leave shortly. |
| May 21, 2022 16:58 KST |
Travel pool 8 — leaving People's House The motorcade is leaving the People's House. The pool did not see POTUS enter his vehicle. We will go to the RON until the state dinner. |
| May 21, 2022 17:10 KST |
Travel pool 9 — arrive at RON The motorcade has arrived. Pool vans split off from the rest of the motorcade in a parking lot. We will hold at the hotel until the state dinner. |
| May 21, 2022 19:12 KST |
Travel pool 10 — leaving RON for state dinner Motorcade rolling as of 7:10 for state dinner at National Miseum of Korea. |
| May 21, 2022 19:16 KST |
Travel pool 11 — Moon readout. From the White House: This evening, President Biden spoke with former President of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in. President Biden thanked the former President for his close partnership and commitment to the alliance and noted his intent to continue strengthening ties between the US-ROK governments, economies, and people. |
| May 21, 2022 19:21 KST |
Travel pool 12 — arrival at museum The motorcade raced through town under an especially pink sunset, arriving at 7:20 pm for the dinner. Pool did not see POTUS exit his vehicle. |
| May 21, 2022 19:54 KST |
Travel pool 13 — entrance and toasts Biden and Yoon walked down a long red carpet through the museum's atrium. The museum is a monolithic building made of off-white stone, with open corridors and a very high ceiling. The colorfully dressed honor guard stood along the sides of the carpet. The first group of guards wore flowing blue and yellow garments and held matching flags to form an arch over the welcome path. The second group, toward the end of their walk, wore red tops with green or yellow bottoms. They all wore hats with wide brims and big red tassels. They played festive music and held swords in a salute. Both Biden and Yoon wore dark suits. As they entered the hall, a string quartet played Pomp and Circumstance. They sat at a round head table in a wide open room. There were about 15-20 other tables, each with 7-8 people. The walls were lined with alternating flags, 7 from each country. After a moderator welcomed everyone, the string quartet played both countries' national anthem. Then the leaders gave toasts from a podium at the rear of the room. "It is a pleasure to welcome you hear tonight" Yoon said, celebrating the alliance and referring back to the meetings of the day where they promised to strengthen the alliance. He spoke about the communist invasion of 1950. "the ROK-US Alliance was forged in blood on the battlefield of the Korean War. Since then, the alliance has been a strong foundation which buttress Korea's economy, growth and prosperity based on free democracy and market economy." "Our alliance will go beyond security to a cutting edge technology Alliance, and to a global comprehensive strategic alliances, I will draw and design a new future vision of our alliance with you Mr President." He then quoted Yeats, " one of your favorite poets," prompting a laugh and a nod from Biden. Everyone stood for the toast and the band played briefly before Biden spoke. He said the two spent a long time getting to know each other and laughed. "We shared a lot of stories from our early beginnings and I think maybe we told each other too much I don't know." "The idea you would quote William Butler Yeats, I appreciate it very much," he said. He then joked that it would not happen in London, drawing only scattered laughs. He spoke a few more lines about the strength of the alliance before concluding. "So I like to raise a glass Be the alliance between our two great nations continue to flourish For all the decades ahead. And as our combined forces say we go together." Background: U.S. Delegation attending the dinner hosted by President Yoon: Run of show: |
| May 21, 2022 20:13 KST |
Travel pool 14 — menu
Pool is holding in a nearby classroom. |
| May 21, 2022 21:32 KST |
Travel pool 15 — Motorcade rolling The motorcade left the museum at 9:29 and we are headed for RON. |
| May 21, 2022 21:45 KST |
Travel pool 16 — return and lid The motorcade arrived at the RON at 9:38 pm. A crowd was gathered outside the hotel chanting in what appeared to be a protest. Pool did not see Biden exit his vehicle. We have a travel~photo lid. Special thanks to co-pooler Zolan Kanno-Youngs. |
| May 21, 2022 23:00 KST |
Travel pool 16a — clarification The crowd gathered outside the president's hotel was actually chanting USA, according to photographers in the pool who heard them from another van. My apologies. |
Related Images
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Pool Reports of May 21, 2022 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/356049