Trump and Biden join hands in the White House... "Smooth transfer of power" in one voice.

[Anchor]
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden at the White House to confirm a peaceful and smooth transition of power.

Trump, who did not invite President Biden four years ago due to his objection to the presidential election, thanked him, saying, "Politics is difficult, but today is a good day."

This is Washington correspondent Hong Sang-hee.

[Reporter]
In the Oval Office of the White House, Trump and President Biden sat side by side in front of the fireplace.

President Biden first asked for a handshake, congratulating him on his presidential victory and his return to the White House.

[Joe Biden/President of the United States] Congratulations and look forward to a smooth transition of power. I will do my best to provide what I need and I have the opportunity to talk about some of them today.]

President-elect Trump also expressed his gratitude to help smooth transition of power.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President-elect] Politics is difficult, and there are not many good days in many cases, but today is a good day. The transition of the regime is very smooth, and it will continue to be smooth. Thank you Joe (President Biden).

It is a significant change compared to the conflicts during the presidential election, including the TV debate for the presidential candidate in June, when then-President Trump did not even meet in disagreement with the results of the presidential election.

During the two-hour conversation, Mr. Biden is likely to have highlighted the need for support for Ukraine and solutions to the Middle East crisis for stability in Europe.

[Karyn Jean-Pierre/White House Press Secretary] We discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the United States and the world. President Biden has laid out key issues for Congress to do in the "lame duck session," including government funding and provision of disaster supplemental funds.]


Melania did not attend because of her prior engagement, but Jill Biden sent a congratulatory letter through Trump.

Before meeting with President Biden, Trump celebrated his presidential victory by meeting with House Republicans in Washington, D.C.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President-elect: Isn't it good to win? It's good to win. It won the majority by 7.1 million votes.The Republicans won even though they weren't going to have a majority. And we won big in the seven contending states.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was named head of the government's efficiency department, also attended the meeting to show his presence.

Concerns have been raised about the delay in the transition process as Trump has not submitted a pledge to prevent conflicts of interest under the Presidential Transition Act and the transition team has not signed a memorandum of understanding.

As President Biden and President-elect Trump met in person to confirm a "peaceful and smooth transition of power," the takeover, which had been disrupted, is expected to begin in earnest.

I'm Hong Sanghee from Washington.