Diplomacy

Acting President Choi meets with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken

Blinken says, “Trust in the strength of Korean democracy”

By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

 

Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting South Korea on Jan. 6, and said, “Let's continue to maintain a diplomatic and security framework based on the strong ROK-US alliance and trilateral cooperation.”

 

“As a friend of South Korea, the United States has full confidence in the strength of South Korea's democracy and the leadership of Acting President Choi,” Blinken said.

 

 

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Choi and Blinken met earlier in the day at the Seoul Government Complex and exchanged views on the U.S.-ROK alliance, South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation, and North Korea.


Choi expressed his appreciation for the United States' continued support and trust in the ROK-U.S. alliance and Korean democracy, and emphasized that Secretary Blinken's visit to South Korea is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the U.S.-ROK alliance.

 

He also called for continued efforts to ensure the implementation of the key achievements of the U.S.-ROK alliance, including the Joint Statement on the 70th Anniversary of the Alliance, the Washington Declaration, and the principles and spirit of Camp David.

 

 

Choi called for close communication between diplomatic and security officials and a robust U.S.-ROK joint defense posture to closely prepare for any possible provocations by North Korea.

 

“The United States stands ready to provide any assistance that is needed,” Blinken said, expressing sympathy and prayers on behalf of the American people for the crash of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29 last year.

 

The United States has confidence in the strength of South Korea's democracy and the leadership of Acting President Choi, he said, stressing that “our defense commitment to South Korea will never waver.”

 

“After more than 70 years, the importance and role of the U.S.-ROK alliance as a key pillar of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region has never been clearer,” Blinken said.

 

He commended the U.S.-ROK, U.S.-Japan-South Korea cooperation, including the achievements of the Camp David Summit, and said he has high hopes that these achievements will be maintained and expanded in the future.

 

Blinken also said at a joint press conference after the U.S.-ROK foreign ministers' meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, “North Korea is already receiving military equipment and training from Russia, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has moved closer to reversing decades of policy and tolerating North Korea's nuclear weapons program.” 

 

“We have credible intelligence that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea,” Blinken said.


Blinken came to South Korea the previous day as part of a farewell visit ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump's administration on Jan. 20.