Yoon Invites US Blinken to Residence... "US Leadership Crucial on North Korea Issue, Close Cooperation"

Lunch with Secretary Blinken at the Residence, Discussing North Korea Issues and Middle East Instability
President Yoon: "The ROK-US Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance is Firmly Established"

President Yoon Suk-yeol met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the 9th and stated, "At a time when U.S. leadership is becoming increasingly important due to instability in the Middle East along with the North Korea and North Korean nuclear issues and the Ukraine war," expressing his commitment to close cooperation with the United States.

President Yoon invited Secretary Blinken to the presidential residence for lunch on the same day, reiterating his intention for security cooperation.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who made a state visit to the United States last April, had lunch with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the "Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room" located in the main building of the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At this meeting, President Yoon welcomed Secretary Blinken's visit to Korea, saying, "Over the past year and a half, the Korea-U.S. global comprehensive strategic alliance has been firmly established, and Secretary Blinken has played a significant role in that process."

In particular, President Yoon mentioned, "At a time when U.S. leadership is becoming increasingly important due to instability in the Middle East along with the North Korea and North Korean nuclear issues and the Ukraine war," and stated, "As an ally of the United States, Korea will closely cooperate with the U.S. to uphold core values and strengthen the rules-based international order."

In response, Secretary Blinken said, "The focus of U.S. foreign policy is centered on the Indo-Pacific region," and added, "We aim to further solidify the alliance and strategic partnership with Korea, a key player in the region." He also said, "I pay tribute to President Yoon's leadership in bringing about new progress in Korea-Japan relations and the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral relationship."

Earlier, Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Security Office, held a secure phone consultation with Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor. The two sides discussed cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan, the Korea-U.S.-Japan National Security Advisors' meeting, and the holding of the Korea-U.S. Next-Generation Core and Emerging Technologies Dialogue.

The national security advisors of both countries exchanged views on mutual interests including the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan based on the Camp David agreement. They also agreed to strengthen seamless trilateral coordination to ensure the smooth implementation of follow-up measures. Additionally, the national security advisors agreed to promote holding the Korea-U.S.-Japan National Security Advisors' meeting within this year as per the Camp David agreement, and to advance the first meeting of the Korea-U.S. Next-Generation Core and Emerging Technologies Dialogue, which was agreed to be established by the two heads of state at the Korea-U.S. summit in April this year.

Meanwhile, the lunch was attended by Foreign Minister Park Jin, National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo, Chief Public Relations Officer Kim Eun-hye, Diplomatic Secretary Lee Chung-myeon, U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, and U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, among others.

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