Blinken to visit South Korea amid political crisis

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea next week, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Friday, amid political chaos and as its suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, resists arrest.

South Korea is a key U.S. security ally, but the Asian country has been rocked by a crisis triggered after Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose an unconstitutional marcial law on Dec 3.

The U.S. secretary of state will meet with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"They are expected to discuss the South Korea-U.S. alliance, cooperation between the two countries and Japan, North Korean issues and regional and global challenges," the department added.

The State Department did not mention the political situation in South Korea in its statement, but clarified that Blinken will address "ways in which the two countries can continue to build on our critical cooperation on challenges in the world," as announced in a bulletin.

Officials investigating Yoon's declaration of martial law attempted to execute an arrest warrant against him on Friday, but were met with resistance from presidential security guards, triggering a political crisis virtually unheard of in the Asian country's history.

The order expires Jan. 6, the same day Blinken is scheduled to meet with Cho.

In December, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he was confident in the robustness and resilience of South Korea's democracy. He also mentioned that he would remain in contact with his South Korean counterparts to ensure that democracy continues to prevail in the Asian nation.

Yoon remains South Korea's president, but is suspended pending the Constitutional Court's decision on his impeachment.

After his trip to Seoul, Blinken will visit another key U.S. ally in Asia, Japan, and then move on to France, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and crises in the Middle East.