US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives late on Sunday in crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.
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Blinken will hold talks with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, the same day a warrant expires to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol who unsuccessfully tried to impose martial law on December 3.
Seoul is the first stop on what is likely to be Blinken’s final trip as the top US diplomat as he seeks to highlight President Joe Biden’s record rallying democratic allies before the return of the more mercurial Donald Trump.
Blinken will head afterwards to Tokyo, making it crucial in the eyes of his advisers not to snub South Korea, which has a fraught and often competitive relationship with Japan, a fellow US ally also home to thousands of American troops.
Yoon had once been a darling of the Biden administration with his bold moves to turn the page on friction with Japan and his eye on a greater role for South Korea on global issues.
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Yoon joined Biden for a landmark three-way summit with Japan’s prime minister and – months before declaring martial law – was picked to lead a global democracy summit, a signature initiative for the outgoing US administration.