Blinken wades into political crisis with stop in South Korea

Seoul: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity...

Seoul: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.

Blinken arrived in the snow-covered capital on what will likely be his final trip as the top US diplomat before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

He will meet his counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, the same day a warrant expires to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol who unsuccessfully tried to impose martial law on December 3.

Blinken is highlighting President Joe Biden's efforts to build alliances and will head afterwards to Tokyo, making it crucial in the eyes of his advisors not to snub South Korea, which has a fraught and often competitive relationship with Japan, also home to thousands of American troops.

Yoon had once been a darling of the Biden administration with his bold moves to turn the page on friction with Japan and his eye on a greater role for South Korea on global issues.