Biden receives Yoon and Kishida in the privacy of Camp David, home of US diplomacy

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, receives the leaders of Japan and South Korea, Fumio Kishida and Yoon Suk-yeol, this Friday in the intimacy of the Camp David presidential residence for a summit that is expected to be as emblematic as others held at this iconic centre of US diplomacy.

Biden has selected Camp David with the intention of highlighting the importance he attaches to the alliance between the United States, Japan and South Korea, with the intention of establishing a counterweight to China and curbing North Korea's nuclear programme.

"We have chosen Camp David with great care. The choice serves to recognise that this place is reserved for only the most important and significant meetings," a senior US official told reporters.

The residence, nestled in the Catoctin Mountains in the state of Maryland, is best known for the "Camp David Accords", which laid the groundwork for the signing of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

To achieve the 'Camp David Accords', then US President Jimmy Carter selected a location away from the media in the hope of facilitating a frank dialogue between then Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Beguin.

Media access to Camp David is restricted and can only enter with prior authorisation. This Friday, journalists have special permission to cover a press conference by Biden, Yoon and Kishida scheduled for 15:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

The privacy of Camp David's 70-plus acres allows US presidents to escape the political pressures of Washington and enjoy moments of "solitude" and "quiet", the White House describes on its website.

The distinctly rural site has 12 guest cabins and the "Laurel" cottage, which hosts high-level meetings with three conference rooms, a dining room and a small office for the president, according to the White House Historical Association.

Camp David was established as a presidential residence in 1942 during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and has been used by every president since.

Roosevelt initially called the place "Shangri-La", a reference to the mountain kingdom in James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizons"; but Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David in honour of his grandson, David Eisenhower.

Each president has used Camp David in a different way. One of the presidents who spent the most time here was Ronald Reagan, who often took the opportunity to go horseback riding, while his wife and first lady, Nancy Reagan, enjoyed renovating the grounds.

In addition, the Reagans hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Camp David for a 1986 summit of great importance in setting the course for the end of the Cold War.

George W. Bush, also a frequent visitor, hosted a host of foreign leaders at Camp David. In 2002, for example, he hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hope of improving relations between Moscow and Washington, although these attempts failed.

One of the biggest Camp David fiascos was Bill Clinton's attempt to replicate Carter's success with a meeting in 2000 between then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to reach an agreement to end the conflict, which failed.

Perhaps the most surreal moment, however, occurred in 2019, when Donald Trump attempted to arrange a meeting at Camp David with the Taliban, a group considered terrorist by the US, with the idea that it would take place shortly before the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks that led to the war in Afghanistan.

That meeting was cancelled after the Taliban took responsibility for an attack in Kabul that killed more than a dozen people, including a US soldier.

Biden, for his part, has made little use of Camp David, preferring to relax at weekends at his residence in Delaware.

Friday's summit will be Biden's first at Camp David with foreign leaders. The fact that Yoon and Kishida will be the first guests of honour underscores the importance that the Asia-Pacific region has acquired for the United States in recent years.

And, in some ways, it reflects Biden's hope for future dealings with China, which he personally sees as the main challenge for the future of the United States.