[Report by Jiang Ailing] According to a report by South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo on the 3rd, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea scheduled for next week has been canceled. Prior reports indicated that Blinken had planned to visit South Korea from the 8th to the 9th of this month and to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The report mentioned that the U.S. Department of State informed South Korea on the 2nd (Korean time on the 3rd) due to “(U.S.) domestic situations and other reasons,” Blinken’s visit is difficult to proceed. The Chosun Ilbo reported that this marks the first cancellation of a U.S. senior official’s visit to South Korea since Moon Jae-in took office as President of South Korea.
A statement released by the South Korean Presidential Office on the 3rd stated, “South Korea and the U.S. have been in consultation about the possibility of Blinken’s visit to South Korea, but due to ‘internal situations’ in the United States, it is likely that the visit will not take place in the near future.” The statement also mentioned that South Korea and the U.S. would continue to communicate on high-level personnel exchanges.
Furthermore, the report mentioned that Blinken will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 10th of this month as scheduled.
The report also noted that after Moon Jae-in took office, the specific schedule for the U.S.-South Korea summit talks has yet to be finalized. With Blinken’s visit to South Korea being canceled again, there has been speculation in the South Korean diplomatic community about whether there might be issues with the U.S.-South Korea relationship.