WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to South Korea on a mission to reaffirm America's "ironclad" alliance with the Asian country, the State Department said.
This will be the first trip to Seoul by a top US official since President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law attempt last month, according to the US State Department on Friday.
Blinken plans to visit Seoul as part of his overseas trip that will also take him to Japan and France, Matthew Miller, the department's spokesperson, said. The three-nation trip runs from Friday to Thursday, reports Yonhap news agency.
Seoul's foreign ministry has said Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Blinken will hold talks in Seoul on Monday.
"In the ROK, Secretary Blinken will meet with senior ROK government officials to reaffirm the ironclad US-ROK Alliance and discuss ways our two nations can build on our critical cooperation on challenges around the world based on our shared values, " Miller said in a statement. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"The Secretary will also discuss how the United States and the ROK can strengthen key efforts to promote a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific, as well as trilateral efforts with Japan, " he added.
The bilateral talks have been set amid lingering concerns that South Korea's political turmoil in the wake of Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition and his subsequent impeachment could undermine cooperation between Seoul and Washington in the midst of North Korea's evolving military threats.
Apparently, mindful of such concerns, Seoul and Washington have agreed to fully resume bilateral diplomatic and security schedules postponed in the aftermath of Yoon's martial law attempt.
In Japan, Blinken plans to meet senior Tokyo officials to take stock of progress in the US-Japan alliance in the past few years and reaffirm the importance of the alliance in addressing bilateral, regional and global issues, according to Miller.
In France, the secretary will meet senior French officials as part of the bilateral partnership to address challenges in Europe, the Middle East and beyond, the spokesperson said.