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South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London on Monday. (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London on Monday and learned about the US’s recently concluded North Korea policy review. The two diplomats agreed to keep cooperating to ensure the success of a South Korea-US summit scheduled for May 21.

“President Biden’s speech before Congress was very positive and encouraging for South Korea, as well as the world,” said Chung prior to his meeting with Blinken at the Grosvenor House, a hotel in London. Chung also said he “welcomes” the results of Biden’s review of North Korea policy.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release after the meeting that “Secretary Blinken shared the results of the US’s North Korea policy review” and that Chung had “welcomed the results of the Biden administration’s North Korea policy review, which were decided realistically and effectively.”

Chung and Blinken also agreed that the two countries would “keep working together on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace” and to “ensure the success of the summit scheduled for May 21,” according to MOFA.

In addition, the two diplomats promised more bilateral cooperation on key issues that include linking South Korea’s New Southern Policy and the US’s plans for the Indo-Pacific region, COVID-19 vaccines, and tackling global issues including climate change and democracy.

This was Chung and Blinken’s second meeting, coming just a month and a half after their previous one in Seoul on March 17.

After the meeting, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price published a readout stating that Chung and Blinken “reaffirmed that the US-ROK Alliance is the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world” and “highlighted the importance of US-Republic of Korea cooperation to address the global threats of COVID-19 and the climate crisis.”

According to the readout, the two diplomats also “stressed their commitment to work together to protect and advance shared security goals, including US-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Price had earlier released a readout of Blinken’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. “Secretary Blinken and Minister Motegi shared their concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirmed their commitment to address and resolve these issues through US-Japan-Republic of Korea trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the readout said.

Diplomats from the G7 countries are scheduled to attend a welcome dinner Monday at which they will discuss the issues of Iran and North Korea. While Chung was invited to the UK as a guest and is not attending that dinner, he’s expected to follow the discussion from the sidelines.

Chung will attend a meeting Wednesday with Blinken and Motegi, followed by his first one-on-one meeting with Motegi. Since becoming foreign minister in February, Chung hasn’t even spoken on the phone with Motegi because of chilly relations between South Korea and Japan.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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