SEOUL With Seoul embroiled in political unrest as its ousted president eludes arrest, the two nations announced Friday, January 3, that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to South Korea for negotiations the following week. According to the US State Department, Blinken will also travel to Japan and France on what is expected to be his final foreign trip before President-elect Donald Trump returns.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s unsuccessful martial emergency proclamation on December 3 has caused a crisis in South Korea, a crucial security ally of Washington. Blinken will meet with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, according to a statement from Seoul’s foreign ministry. According to the ministry, they are anticipated to discuss North Korea concerns, regional and international issues, the South Korean-US alliance, and South Korea-US-Japan cooperation.
In a statement, the State Department said Blinken will discuss “ways our two nations can build on our critical cooperation on challenges around the world based on our shared values,” without explicitly mentioning the current turmoil. On Friday, investigators looking into Yoon’s martial law proclamation tried to execute an arrest warrant for him but were blocked by presidential security officers.
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