Blinken to visit South Korea with eye on political crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken   (AFP file photo)

SEOUL – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, the two countries announced Friday, with Seoul mired in political turmoil as its impeached president resists arrest.

Blinken, on what will likely be his last international trip before president-elect Donald Trump’s return, will also visit Japan and France, the State Department said.

South Korea is a key security ally for Washington, but the country has been wracked by a crisis sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law decree on December 3.

Blinken will meet his counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“They are expected to discuss the South Korea-US alliance, South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, North Korea issues, and regional and global challenges,” the ministry said.

The State Department in a statement made no direct mention of the political chaos, saying Blinken will speak about “ways our two nations can build on our critical cooperation on challenges around the world based on our shared values”.

Investigators probing Yoon’s declaration of martial law attempted to enforce a warrant for his arrest on Friday but were thwarted by presidential security guards.

That warrant expires January 6, the same day Blinken plans to meet Cho.

Washington said last month it would “speak out” to South Korea to safeguard democracy after Yoon’s bungled declaration.

“South Korea’s democracy is robust and resilient, and we’re going to continue to speak out publicly and engage privately with South Korean counterparts to reinforce the importance of that continuing,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

Yoon remains South Korea’s sitting president but is suspended pending a constitutional court decision over his impeachment.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has been installed as the country’s acting president and has only been in office for a week.

After South Korea, Blinken will head to another cornerstone US ally in Asia, Japan, where he will “review the tremendous progress the US-Japan alliance has made over the past few years”, the State Department said.

The visit was announced the same day President Joe Biden dashed one priority for many in Japan by blocking a $14.9 billion deal by Nippon Steel to buy US Steel, bowing to concerns by unions.

On Wednesday, Blinken will head to France, where he is expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and crises in the Middle East.

Over his four-year term, Biden has sought to emphasise the importance of US alliances, in contrast to Trump’s frequent criticism of US partners he perceives as unfairly depending on Washington.