US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is arriving in South Korea, in the midst of a political crisis in the country, which is a close US ally in Asia, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA, citing statements from authorities in Seoul and Washington.
This visit, after which Blinken will also travel to Japan and France, is part of a tour that is likely to be his last before the end of his term, AFP notes.
Blinken will be received by his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-jul to discuss “the alliance between South Korea and the United States; cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan; issues related to North Korea, and regional and global challenges“, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The US Secretary of State's visit aims to “reaffirm the unbreakable alliance“ between the two countries and discuss ways to “strengthen key efforts to promote a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region“, the US State Department said yesterday.
South Korea is a key ally of Washington in the region, but the country has been plunged into political chaos since President Yun Suk-yeol tried to impose martial law on December 3. An attempt was made to arrest him yesterday, but the ousted president's security guards prevented this from happening.
His declaration of martial law in early December surprised the United States. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US government had heard the news on television. He stressed that these unexpected events had caused "deep concern" in Washington and added that he hoped for an outcome that respected the "rule of law".
After South Korea, Blinken will visit Japan, where he will "discuss the tremendous progress" made in the strategic partnership between the two countries, the US State Department said.
The visit was announced on the day President Joe Biden decided to block the takeover of US steel giant US Steel by Japanese giant Nippon Steel. - an issue that has shaken the economic and political spheres in both countries.
Then, on Wednesday, the US secretary of state will travel to France, where he is expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, the State Department said in a statement.