SEOUL (Portal) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his key ally South Korea to discuss the outcome of his visit to China this month, South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Blinken told South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin he has had honest, practical and constructive dialogue with the Chinese side and wants to explain the findings of his visit in as much detail as possible, the ministry said in a statement.
Blinken and Park decided to continue communicating on ties with China and to urge Beijing to play a constructive role in suspending provocations and North Korea’s denuclearization, the ministry said.
During the visit to China, where Blinken met President Xi Jinping and other senior officials, both sides agreed to stabilize their intense rivalry lest it escalate into conflict, but failed to achieve a major breakthrough.
Meanwhile, North Korea has slammed Blinken for trying to get China to pressure Pyongyang to lay down arms and warned that its response to increased US military action on the Korean peninsula will become “more overwhelming and aggressive.” state media KCNA said on Saturday.
Blinken’s “threats” to China to pressure Pyongyang reflect 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 exercises by South Korean and American troops.
The isolated country is under international sanctions for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by William Mallard and Tom Hogue)