Washington sympathizes with the concerns about the impact on South Korean products from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and will continue consultations with Seoul to find a solution, U.S. President Joe Biden wrote in a letter sent to Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, a presidential official said Wednesday.

“President Yoon received a letter from Biden on Oct. 4 on the U.S. IRA and Korean companies’ role,” said Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for public relations, Wednesday. “In the letter, Biden emphasized that he is well aware of the concerns Yoon has about the IRA and is willing to continue consultations in candid and open-minded manner”

The IRA strips tax credits when purchasing Korean electric vehicles as tax refund claims can only applied to EVs assembled in North America. Yoon, during his trip to New York to attend the U.S. General Assembly, briefly met with Biden and expressed concerns about the IRA.

Biden also noted in the letter that he is convinced that the U.S. with Korea will play key role in enhancing Korea-U.S. alliance and reaching joint goal, she said.

“The letter signed personally by Biden shows that the U.S. shares concerns Korea has and expresses clearly Korean companies’ positive role (in the U.S.), and that it is willing to regard Korean companies.”

The letter touched upon intensifying provocations by North Korea, although the presidential office did not elaborate on it.

“The joint goal mentioned in the letter reflects close cooperative ties between the two countries that keep peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,” said a senior official from the presidential office who asked to be unnamed. “It would be the principle that brings peace based on actual value alliance and improves lives of the people in both countries.”

“It is also a behaving alliance that is not limited to rhetoric as a security alliance above value alliance,” the official added.

The official also emphasized that the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier that left Korean waters after a joint naval exercise last month has returned to the East Sea following North Korea’s provocations.

North Korea early Thursday fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, just two days after it launched intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan. The North hurled ballistic missiles six times in the last 12 days.

Seoul is closely working around the clock with the U.S. in all levels and will deepen cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, according to the official.

With the return of USS Ronald Reagan, South Korea will hold another trilateral sea exercise with Japan.

Yoon plans to hold a phone talk with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday to discuss joint response to Japanese provocations.

By Park In-hye and Lee Eun-joo

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