Blinken to visit S. Korea early next week amid Yoon's impeachment
Photo: AFP
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit South Korea early next week, sources said Friday, in what would be the first such trip by the U.S. top diplomat since President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
Seoul and Washington were fine-tuning the arrangement for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's possible two-day visit to Seoul beginning Sunday, a diplomatic source said, News.az reports, citing Yonhap.If realized, Blinken is expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul the following day, the source said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is also likely to visit South Korea on Jan. 13 and meet one-on-one with Cho for talks, another source said.
Their potential visits come at a time when South Korea is working to reassure its alliance with the United States and its standing as a reliable international partner, despite the political turmoil surrounding Yoon's impeachment over his brief martial law attempt early last month.
Yoon's abrupt martial law imposition sparked concerns that it could undermine Seoul's policy coordination with Washington in security and other issues, primarily North Korean threats.
It also raised worries that the incident might hinder the allies' efforts to further cement the trilateral partnership framework with Japan -- a key achievement touted by the U.S. Joe Biden administration.
Hosting the top diplomats of the U.S. and Japan is expected to help alleviate such concerns and set the stage for South Korea to demonstrate that it has the unwavering support from the two countries despite the political tumult.
Cho is likely to use the occasions to reaffirm the commitment to the alliance with Washington and the U.S.' deterrence against North Korea. He is also expected to discuss the deepening military ties between the North and Russia, as well as Pyongyang's troop deployment to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
Cho may also take the opportunity to reaffirm South Korea's unwavering commitment to advancing the trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.
For Blinken, the likely trip will be his final Asia tour as the top U.S. diplomat under the outgoing Biden administration. After his stop in Seoul, he is expected to travel to Japan.
Sources said that South Korea is also working with China and Japan to hold a three-way meeting among their foreign ministers in Japan, as early as next month, as part of preparations for a planned summit of the three countries' leaders. Japan is this year's host for the trilateral summit.
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