Foreign Minister Park Jin to Visit the U.S. on the 12th for Bilateral Talks with Blinken

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Foreign Minister Park Jin will visit the United States for the first time since taking office from the 12th to the 15th and hold a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken.

Foreign Minister Park Jin is delivering opening remarks at the 'Party-Government-National Assembly Consultative Meeting on National Security Review Related to North Korean Provocations' held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam stated on the 9th, "Minister Park is scheduled to visit Washington D.C., USA, from the 12th to the 15th at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken."

During this visit, Minister Park will hold the first Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting with Secretary Blinken since taking office.

Secretary Blinken expressed his invitation during their first phone call on the 13th of last month, suggesting an early visit to the U.S. to discuss shared interests in depth.

This will be Minister Park's first face-to-face meeting with Secretary Blinken since his inauguration last month.

The meeting is expected to focus intensively on follow-up measures from the Korea-U.S. summit held on the 21st of last month, as well as responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Spokesperson Choi said, "Minister Park is also currently pursuing contacts with various sectors in the U.S. political and social circles," adding, "Specific schedules will be announced separately once confirmed."

It is also reported that Minister Park is coordinating his first visit to Japan following his trip to the U.S.

Spokesperson Choi mentioned that Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa invited Minister Park to visit Japan at a convenient time as early as possible, stating, "Based on this mutual understanding, both sides are currently reviewing possible schedules."