Prime Minister Han became acting president after the South Korean parliament had impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday over the short-term imposition of martial law on December 3-4.
"Our government will carry out our diplomatic and security policies without disruption and work to ensure that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering," Han Deok-soo said.
He stressed the importance of strengthening the joint defense strategy of South Korea and the United States, including against the backdrop of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
He also explained that all South Korean state affairs would be conducted in strict accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Biden thanked Han for the clarification and noted the resilience of South Korea's democracy. He said that the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States remained unchanged, and that he would continue to work with the South Korean side to develop and strengthen it, as well as on cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan.
In connection with the approval of the impeachment by the parliament, Yoon Suk-yeol's powers are temporarily suspended, the Constitutional Court will consider the issue of removing the president from office. The court will have 180 days to do this, with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo becoming acting head of state until the final verdict is issued.
The Constitutional Court will begin considering the issue of removing Yoon Suk-yeol from the post of president next Monday. However, according to Sputnik's experts, the court will need almost all six months allotted by law to make a decision on removing or reinstating Yoon as president of South Korea.