Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, Expects Strong Development of ROK-U.S. Alliance"

Published 27 Jan.2021 07:34(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 27th that it congratulates Tony Blinken on his official inauguration as U.S. Secretary of State following the approval of his confirmation.

In a spokesperson's statement on the same day, the Ministry emphasized, "Our government expects that the Korea-U.S. alliance will be further strengthened and developed with the inauguration of Secretary Blinken, who has a deep understanding of Korea-U.S. relations and the Korean Peninsula issues, as well as rich experience and outstanding leadership."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

To coincide with Secretary Blinken's inauguration, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha plans to communicate with him soon via a phone call.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the afternoon of the 26th, "We expect that once Blinken's confirmation is completed, there will be a phone call with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in a short time."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate approved the confirmation of Blinken, nominated as the first Secretary of State under the Joe Biden administration, on the 26th (local time).

In the Senate floor vote that day, the confirmation consent for Secretary Blinken was passed with 78 votes in favor and 22 against. A majority of the 100 senators is required for confirmation. Earlier, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had passed the confirmation on the previous day.

As the 71st Secretary of State, Secretary Blinken is a close aide to President Biden and a longtime diplomatic and security advisor who led the formulation of foreign and security policies for the campaign during the last presidential election.

He served as National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden during the Barack Obama administration, then as Deputy National Security Advisor in Obama's second term, and from 2015 to 2017, he was Deputy Secretary of State.

He is regarded as having a deep understanding of North Korea issues and Korean Peninsula policies, including involvement in the 'strategic patience' policy toward North Korea at the time.