In Vilnius, South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol runs into ‘American Pie’ singing US Senator

South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol's encounter with a US senator took a musical turn on Monday when the latter decided that it was only fair to sing out loud a rendition of Don McLean’s 'American Pie', a track that the president crooned during his visit to the United States earlier in April. 

Senator Pete Ricketts was dining at a restaurant in the Lithuanian capital when he spotted Yoon with his wife Kim Keon-hee. He then, along with his retinue, rushed up to the pair, before deciding to deliver a full-blown performance of the South Korean leader's favourite song 'American Pie'. 

The warm interaction brought back memories of Yoon's visit to Washington, when he delivered his own version of the song during a state dinner that was hosted by US President Joe Biden. The 62-year-old, who playfully admitted that his rendition went well, was later gifted a guitar signed by McLean. 

Yoon in Vilnius: What's on the agenda? 

The presidents then adopted the Washington Declaration to boost their strategic partnership and agreed to establish the Nuclear Consultative Group. According to South China Morning Post, the NCG will convene its first meeting next week in the South Korean capital of Seoul to come up with ways to ramp up deterrence against North Korean provocation. 

In Vilnius, Yoon will be taking part in about ten meetings with global leaders on the sidelines of the ongoing NATO summit. He is also slated to meet the military alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg. Furthermore, he will likely hold talks with Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida over Tokyo's recent decision to release wastewater from the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, a move that has sparked concern in neighbouring South Korea.