On-point: Why U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is coming to South Korea

블링컨 美 국무 이번 주 방한 정찰위성•인권•제재 등 대북현안 산적 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making a two-day visit to Seoul from Wednesday. His trip will be a busy one with a lot to cover on the security and diplomatic front. For more, let’s turn to Professor Min Jeong-hun. Thanks for joining us. 1. It’ll be Blinken’s first Seoul visit in over two years but also the first under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Why is he coming and why now? 2. There are concerns that U.S. attention will be turned more toward the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East rather than here on the Korean Peninsula. Is that so? Should South Korea be worried? Will Blinken reaffirm Washington’s security pledges during the trip? 3. The American top diplomat’s trip is timely due to developments here on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea’s 3rd spy satellite launch attempt likely to happen this year. Will there be a collective voice calling out on the North? Will they discuss measures or even sanctions to slap on the regime for doing an arms deal with Russia? 4. It’s highly likely there be a dialogue on the crises in Ukraine and in the Middle East. What conclusions will Seoul and Washington draw on those conflicts? 5. Blinken’s visit to Seoul also comes ahead of a much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco. Will the Biden-Xi summit be a turning point for the situation here on the Peninsula? Thanks so much for your insight as always, Professor Min. We appreciate it. #Antony_Blinken #SouthKorea #YoonSukYeol #NorthKorea #security #블링컨 #북한 #미국_국무부장관 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-07, 09:00 (KST)