President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the United States on Monday afternoon for the first state visit in 12 years by a South Korean head of state.

His seven-day visit, making him only the second state guest of U.S. President Joe Biden following French President Emmanuel Macron in December, will culminate in a summit on Wednesday, local time, where the two leaders will seek to deepen Seoul-Washington cooperation as the alliance marks its 70th anniversary. 

During the talks, they are expected to discuss cooperation on North Korea as well as regional and global issues. U.S. legislation on electric vehicles and semiconductors affecting South Korea is also among possible agenda items.

On Thursday, Yoon will deliver a 30-minute speech in English to the U.S. Congress, the first such speech by a South Korean president since former President Park Geun-hye in May of 2013.

His itinerary also includes a visit to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, attendance at a forum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a policy speech at Harvard Kennedy School.

It will be Yoon's third summit with Biden following the first one in Seoul in March soon after his inauguration. Their second summit was arranged on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Phnom Penh in November.