Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken and South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul acknowledged Monday the challenges facing democracy in their countries and said the alliance between the two countries remains strong despite a strong one. ongoing political turmoil.
“Our relationship is bigger than any leader, any government, any party,” Mr. Blinken said at a news conference with Mr. Cho, referring to the change in leadership in both countries. A case in which the president was impeached after declaring martial law in South Korea shocked the world and is still playing out.
“I think that what we have seen in our own country, as well as in other democratic countries that are facing problems, has been given a clear answer that does not pretend that we do not have any problems or difficulties. confronts them, which confronts them directly,” added Mr. Blinken.
Mr. Blinken said Russia intends to help North Korea by sharing space and satellite technology with Pyongyang and possibly adopting a nuclear weapons program. Mr. Blinken first spoke publicly about Moscow's potential technology exchange last year.
South Korea's deepening political crisis sparked last month by Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative politician who is running for president in 2022, has put Mr. Blinken and President Biden at odds with President-elect Donald J. Trump in recent days. begins the execution of his powers for the second term. Mr. Yoon was impeached by the legislature on Dec. 14 after his surprise, but short-lived. declaration of martial lawthe president resists the police trying to serve him by deciding to hold him on the hillside with his bodyguards.
Mr. Blinken said the United States had “grave concerns” about Mr. Yoon's actions last month and had communicated this to the South Korean government.
Mr. Cho said his country's democratic safeguards are being maintained and “the international community is paying attention to stability, and that is the right way to assess our society.”
Mr. Blinken noted that this is his fourth visit to South Korea and his 21st visit to the Indo-Pacific region as Secretary of State, and this last diplomatic mission in his current position fully covers him. He and US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III made their first foreign trips as cabinet secretaries to South Korea and Japan in 2021 for joint meetings.
Mr. Blinken is on a marathon trip around the world: He plans to hold meetings in Japan on Tuesday, France on Wednesday and Italy on Thursday before crossing paths with Mr. Biden in Rome on Saturday to visit Pope Francis at the Vatican. Mr. Blinken met the Pope in November.
Mr Biden, his top aides and US intelligence agencies turned a blind eye to Mr Yoon's anti-democratic power grab. It was an embarrassment for Mr. Biden — the American president hailed Mr. Yoon as a champion of democracy and chose South Korea to host one of his pet projects, the Democracy Summit, an initiative aimed at promoting global democratic strength. In March, Mr. Yoon led the third iteration in Seoul.
Mr. Biden welcomed Mr. Yoon to a tuxedoed state dinner in Washington in April 2023. Mr. Yoon sang “American Pie.” to an adoring audience. Along with Japan, South Korea has been an American ally in East Asia for decades, and strengthening those military alliances has been an important part of Mr. Biden's strategy to contain China. In August 2023, Mr. Biden hosted then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Mr. Yoo at Camp David. announce a new tripartite security agreement between the three countries.
The United States-South Korea alliance is also aimed at containing North Korea, and Mr. Biden is counting on South Korea for help. to provide artillery shells For the Ukrainian army in defense against a large-scale Russian invasion. The missiles go to Ukraine via the US military.
When Mr. Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, the Biden administration expressed concern but refrained from condemning Mr. Yoonalthough his move echoed Mr Trump's efforts to retain power after Mr Biden's 2020 election victory.
In fact, Mr. Yoon's supporters, who gather on the streets near his residence every day, are drawing straight from Mr. Trump's playbook — carrying signs that read. “Stop Theft” Make an open appeal to Mr. Trump for help in English and chant at rallies. On Sunday, as Mr. Blinken flew to Seoul, pro-democracy protesters seeking to oust Mr. Yoon gathered in fresh snow near the compound, while Mr. Yoon's supporters staged counter-protests. Hundreds of policemen in neon-yellow jackets watched warily.
On Monday morning, Mr. Blinken left his hotel a few blocks from the protests and went to the presidential offices to meet with the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who is also deputy prime minister and finance minister. He then had lunch with Foreign Minister Mr. Cho. Both Korean officials are career bureaucrats appointed to their posts by Mr. Yoon.
After a press conference with Mr. Cho, Mr. Blinken heard the other side of the political divide. He went to the National Assembly building where he met the speaker of the assembly, a member of the opposition party Woo Won-shik. Prosecutors said Mr Woo was on a list of political enemies Mr Yoon wanted soldiers to detain after martial law was imposed.
Mr. Yoon's suspension left South Korea with an elected leader of its government, adding uncertainty to its diplomacy at a time when it faces many foreign uncertainties, including Mr. Trump's suspicion of US allies and growing nuclear hostility from North Korea.
Both the acting president and the progressive opposition have remained committed to an alliance with Washington as domestic political turmoil continues. But Mr Blinken had to tread carefully on both sides of the political fray here.
Mr. Yoon has been more interested in the US alliance than any other South Korean leader in recent decades. That pleased both Mr. Biden and Mr. Yoo's right-wing base of support.
However, it has suffered from poor approval ratings for a long time. His efforts to improve ties with Japan, hailed by Washington as a bold initiative that made the trilateral partnership possible, have not gone down well with most South Koreans.
His government sent police and prosecutors to the homes and offices of unfriendly journalists it accused of spreading “fake news.” He has used his presidential power to veto a series of opposition-led bills to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power involving himself, his office and his wife. And the opposition has used its majority power in the National Assembly to derail his budget plans and impeach officials and prosecutors considered allies of Mr. Yoon.
If the Constitutional Court upholds Mr. Yoon's impeachment in the coming months, he will be formally removed from office. He also faces separate criminal investigations. Prosecutors say he rebelled when he sent troops to the assembly to prevent the lifting of martial law and arrest political enemies.
Around the presidential residence, Mr. Yoon's bodyguards set up barricades with buses and concertina wire over the weekend to prevent criminal investigators and police officers from entering the building to execute a court-issued warrant for his detention for questioning. Investigators failed in their first attempt on Friday and would not try again while Mr. Blinken was in Seoul. The secretary of state flew out early Monday evening, and Seoul residents braced for another possible police raid.