Visit to Korea with the US Secretary of State and Defense after 11 years… Will a message to North Korea come out?

US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin traveled to Korea on the 17th via Japan, with Foreign Minister Eui-yong Eui and Defense Minister Seo Wook, respectively. It has been 11 years since July 2010 for the US Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to visit Korea together.

Secretary of State and Defense of the US administration Joe Biden, who first meets with the heads of diplomacy and security in South Korea, is expected to coordinate major issues such as the North Korean nuclear issue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-US-Japan cooperation, and the transition of wartime combat control (opposition).

Minister Eui-yong Eui-yong and Minister Blincoln will meet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, late afternoon. Various issues such as US-Korea relations, issues on the Korean peninsula, and regional and international cooperation are expected to rise to the table.

It is also of interest that Minister Blincoln will present a message to North Korea. The day before, North Korea’s Labor Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong gave a talk to the United States, saying, “It would be better not to create a casual job from the beginning.”

Secretary Seo-wook and Austin also hold a meeting with the ROK-US defense ministers at the Seoul Department of Defense. The evaluation of the security situation on the Korean peninsula including the North Korean trend, establishment of a combined defense posture, and the transition of wartime operational control will be discussed. In particular, the US side is expected to strongly appeal for measures to strengthen security cooperation between Korea and the United States.

The next morning, the ‘2+2’ meeting will be held where the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense of both countries meet together. After the meeting, a joint statement will be adopted and a press conference will be held. In addition, taking this opportunity, Ambassador Chung Eun-bo and US Ambassador Robert Rapson of the US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea go to the recently concluded Special Agreement on Defense Cost Sharing (SMA) to sign a ceremony.

The following afternoon, the US Secretary of State and Defense leaves Korea on the morning of the 19th after preventing President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House.

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