Blinken, "Cooperation with South Korea on Quad Issues, Possible Role in China's and North Korea's Denuclearization"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken stated on the 18th that the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, which participate in the 'Quad,' are also cooperating with South Korea on various issues addressed by the group.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken is holding talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doryeom-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

At a press conference held after the Korea-U.S. Foreign and Defense Ministers '2+2' meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building that day, Secretary Blinken said regarding South Korea's participation in the Quad, "The Quad is an informal gathering of like-minded countries that come together to strengthen cooperation on various issues."

This essentially revealed the basic stance of the United States.

He added, "We are also working very closely with South Korea on the various issues addressed by the Quad."

At the Quad summit held on the 12th, discussions were held on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, emerging technology cooperation, and climate change response, which is interpreted as meaning that cooperation with South Korea is ongoing on these issues.

He said, "We consider it very beneficial to respond to these issues through regional sub-groups, including the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation."

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is holding talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doryeom-dong, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

When asked during his visit whether South Korea received a request to join the Quad, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong replied, "There was no direct discussion about joining the Quad," and added, "However, we discussed how to harmoniously coordinate South Korea's New Southern Policy and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy."

Secretary Blinken expressed the view that China can play a very important role in North Korea's denuclearization. He said, "(China) can persuade North Korea to denuclearize," and added, "Since North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles are dangerous, there is plenty of room for cooperation with China, and I hope China uses its influence over North Korea to achieve denuclearization in the right direction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.