SEOUL: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he supports South Korea’s efforts to develop a “healthy and mature” cooperative relationship with China, South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Blinken, who arrives in Beijing on Sunday for the highest-level visit by an official of President Joe Biden’s administration, discussed bilateral relations, relations between China and South Korea, and North Korea in a call with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.

Blinken and Park condemned what they consider North Korea’s repeated provocations, the ministry said, and agreed the US, South Korea and Japan should continue to urge China to play a constructive role in the UN Security Council on denuclearisation. The statement did not elaborate.

Officials in Washington say they do not expect Blinken’s trip to China, the first by a secretary of state in five years, to yield a breakthrough in how Washington and Beijing deal with each other. Blinken said on Friday the trip was aimed at establishing “open and empowered” communications.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023