Biden pivots to Asia as he hosts South Korea's president

President Joe Biden planned to on Friday keep his focus on Asia, when he hosts South Korea's President Moon Jae-in at the White House.

Despite fighting in the Middle East dominating headlines this week, President Joe Biden planned to on Friday keep his focus on Asia when he hosts South Korea's president at the White House for his second in-person meeting with a foreign leader since he took office. On the campaign trail and since taking office, Biden has made clear that U.S. competition with China has shaped his view of the world and the fact that his second meeting was with South Korean President Moon Jae-in reflected the emphasis Biden's administration was putting on Asia. The only other leader Biden has hosted at the White House was from Asia, too: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. A "significant amount" of Biden's bilateral meeting with Moon though "will be spent discussing the challenges of" North Korea, a senior administration official told reporters on Wednesday. Ahead of the meeting, Vice President Kamala Harris first welcomed Moon in the vice president's ceremonial office. Neither Harris nor Moon wore masks, a first for a meeting with a foreign leader in the Biden administration, and they also shook hands.