Blinken remains elusive figure for Yoon administration

By Kang Seung-woo

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has become the Joe Biden administration's most hard-to-meet person for the new Korean government, being absent from the American leader's first trip to Seoul since his inauguration in January 2021.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken / AFP-Yonhap

Biden arrived here Friday accompanied by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, but Blinken instead opted to deliver remarks at Georgetown University's commencement ceremony, Saturday (local time), where he also received an honorary Doctorate of humane Letters.

It is not the first time that officials of the Yoon administration have missed out on an opportunity to meet Blinken in person.

In April, one month after his election, Yoon dispatched a seven-member policy consultation delegation, headed by now-Foreign Minister Park Jin, with one of the main objectives of the delegation being to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance. Yoon took office, May 10.

While in Washington, they met with U.S. administration officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell and Sullivan as well as U.S. lawmakers and experts from think tanks.

However, they failed to meet with Blinken, who had to attend a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussel at the time due to the Russian war in Ukraine, drawing criticism from the opposition party claiming that the delegation had "the door shut in its face."

On May 13, Park and Blinken held their first video talks.

As for the absence of the state secretary from the U.S. president's trip to Asia, which also includes a visit to Japan, there is general agreement that it does not carry extra significance.

"It is Biden's trip to Korea, not Blinken's, so even if he had joined the president, his role would have been limited here," a diplomatic source said.

Nevertheless, the Yoon administration may feel uncomfortable with Blinken's absence in the wake of the State Department's announcement that he will accompany Biden in Japan, which may draw more disapproval from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

"Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Tokyo, Japan, May 21 to 24 to accompany President Biden on his first official trip to Asia as president to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and attend the Quad Leaders' Summit," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press statement.

He will also join Biden for the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, where President Yoon will also attend remotely, Price added.

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