Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, to Visit Korea on the 17th... Attending the Summit for Democracy

Prospects for Talks with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken will visit South Korea on the 17th to attend the 3rd Summit for Democracy, which will be held next week in Korea.

Secretary Blinken is expected to arrive in Korea via Osan Air Base. In addition to attending the ministerial meeting of the Summit for Democracy on the 18th, he is also expected to hold talks with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol during his visit.

This will be Secretary Blinken's first visit to Korea in about four months since November last year.

Following the trilateral foreign ministers' meeting of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan held on the sidelines of last month's G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brazil, and the South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers' meeting in Washington D.C., Secretary Blinken will meet Minister Cho face-to-face three times within about a month, including this visit.

Tony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, is delivering opening remarks at the joint press conference of the South Korea-U.S. foreign ministers held at the annex of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Meanwhile, the Summit for Democracy is a forum led by U.S. President Joe Biden to strengthen the unity of democratic countries in response to challenges such as the global rise of authoritarianism.

The first summit was held in 2021 under U.S. leadership, and the second summit in March last year was co-hosted by five countries: the U.S. and South Korea (Indo-Pacific), Zambia (Africa), the Netherlands (Europe), and Costa Rica (Latin America).

This year, the 3rd summit will be hosted by South Korea from the 18th to the 20th. On the 18th, there will be a ministerial meeting and expert roundtables; on the 19th, thematic discussions and workshops led by domestic and international civil society will take place; and the main summit meeting with participation from heads of state will be held virtually on the evening of the 20th. This is the first time that a country other than the U.S. is hosting the summit alone.