Washington DC [US], June 18 (ANI): Ahead of his go to to China, United States State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa on Saturday.
In a press release, US State Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Secretary of State Antony J Blinken spoke today with Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi Yoshimasa ahead of the Secretary’s travel to the People’s Republic of China.”In the dialog with Yoshimasa, Blinken condemned North Korea’s “unlawful ballistic missile” launch into the Sea of Japan and reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad dedication to the defence of Japan.
“Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Hayashi discussed the importance of sustained U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation on a range of regional and global issues, including economic development in the Indo-Pacific, and reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.
This assertion got here after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday. After the incident, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated Japan has lodged a protest with North Korea over the missile launch, reported Kyodo News.
He tweeted, “North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow.” Kishida added, “Dedicate maximum effort to gatheranalyze information,provide the public speedyadequate information. Ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels,other assets. Take all possible measures for precaution, incl. readiness for contingencies.”Blinken additionally spoke with the South Korean Foreign Minister the place he condemned the DPRK’s continued illegal ballistic missile launches and famous the necessity for China to make use of its affect to encourage Pyongyang to have interaction in severe and sustained diplomacy.
“The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defence of the ROK. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Park discussed the importance of sustained U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation in advancing economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and in strengthening the rules-based international order. The Secretary thanked his counterpart for the ROK’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Miller added within the assertion.
Blinken is all set to journey to China and the United Kingdom from June 16-21, the Department of State stated in a press release.
During his go to to China, Blinken will meet with senior PRC officers the place he’ll talk about the significance of sustaining open strains of communication to responsibly handle the US-PRC relationship. (ANI)