US' Blinken to meet Japan and South Korea's foreign ministers to discuss North Korea

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea will meet on September 22 (local time) in New York to discuss the affairs of North Korea. Kyodo news agency reported citing US State Department sources, that the Japanese FM Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong will discuss the situation around Pyongyang in the wake of recent missile launches during their meeting with Blinken. The last time the three officials met in person was in May 2021 in London.

This time, on Wednesday in New York, Blinken, Chung, Motegi are expected to discuss the situation around North Korea which conducted a range of missile launches earlier in September. As leaders across the globe converged in the United States to attend the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Blinken also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the bilateral cooperation including the crisis in Afghanistan. The US called Turkey “an important NATO ally.” Earlier, US Secretary of State also met with UK counterpart Liz Truss.

Blinken reiterates Biden’s message of unity at UNGA

Following US President Joe Biden’s address to the UNGA about unity and solving the challenges at hand for the global community, Blinken reiterated his remarks. US Secretary of State not only thanked the US President for his words at the high-level summit but also said, “There isn't a challenge we face today that we can effectively solve alone. As we fight the COVID-19 pandemic, combat the climate crisis, and defend democracy globally, we'll continue to look to our partners and allies to ensure the best outcomes for us all.”

Meanwhile, in an address to the UNGA, US President Joe Biden emphasised that Washington is “not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.” Calling for unity and stating that it was “time to move on.” Biden said, “The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges, even if we have intense disagreements in other areas — because we’ll all suffer the consequences of our failure if we do not come together to address the urgent threats like COVID-19 and climate change or enduring threats like nuclear proliferation.”

IMAGE: AP