SKorea's Yoon, Kim arrive at WH for State Dinner

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting a fancy black-tie State dinner for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday evening. The South Korean couple were welcomed on the White House's North Portico by the Bidens.

On a perfect spring day, guests entered the White House by strolling through the Jacqueline Kennedy garden in the East Wing and being directed to a cocktail reception before dinner in the East Room, where tables were topped with towering centerpieces of cherry tree boughs in full bloom.

A state visit, including an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn and a sparkly state dinner, is the highest diplomatic honor the U.S. bestows on its closest allies. Yoon was visiting as the U.S. and South Korea mark the 70th year of an alliance that began at the end of the Korean War and committed the U.S. to help South Korea defend itself. Approximately 28,500 U.S. troops are currently based in South Korea.