Yoon meets with Blinken over lunch at presidential residence

▲ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin (not pictured) at the foreign ministry building in Seoul on Nov. 9, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Yoon-Blinken

Yoon meets with Blinken over lunch at presidential residence

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol invited U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to a luncheon at his residence Thursday, as the top U.S. diplomat was in Seoul for talks with his counterpart.

Blinken arrived in Seoul late Wednesday and was set to hold talks with Foreign Minister Park Jin on topics likely to include North Korea, the alliance, and regional and global issues.

"Over the last year, the global comprehensive strategic alliance between South Korea and the United States has been firmly established," Yoon said during the luncheon, crediting Blinken with playing a "large role," according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.

"Now is a time when U.S. leadership is becoming increasingly important due to instability in the Middle East, together with the issue of North Korea and its nuclear program, and the war in Ukraine," he said. "As an ally of the United States, South Korea will work closely with the United States to defend core values and strengthen the rules-based international order."

Blinken responded that U.S. foreign policy remains focused on the Indo-Pacific region, and Washington intends to further strengthen its alliance and strategic partnership with Seoul.

He also expressed his respect for Yoon's leadership for enabling new progress in the South Korea-Japan relationship and in the trilateral relationship among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

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