US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls key ally South Korea to discuss outcomes of China visit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken contacted major partner South Korea on Saturday to discuss the outcomes of his visit to China earlier this month, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

According to a ministry statement, Blinken informed South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin that he had an honest, realistic, and productive talk with the Chinese side and wanted to communicate the findings of his visit in as much detail as possible.

According to the ministry, Blinken and Park resolved to continue communicating about relations with China and to push Beijing to play a positive role in North Korea’s cessation of provocations and denuclearisation.

During the visit to China where Blinken met President Xi Jinping and other top officials, the two sides agreed to stabilise their intense rivalry so it does not veer into conflict, but failed to produce any major breakthrough.

Meanwhile, North Korea criticised Blinken for trying to get China to pressure Pyongyang to lay down arms, and warned that its response will grow “more overwhelmingly and aggressively” to any stronger military measures by the United States on the Korean Peninsula, state media KCNA said on Saturday.

Blinken’s “threats” for China to pressure Pyongyang expresses a “dangerous hegemonic mentality”, KCNA said, citing a North Korean foreign ministry official.

North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast last week, less than an hour after Pyongyang warned of a response to military drills by South Korean and US troops.

The isolated country is under international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

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