(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken lauded South Korea’s response to its recent political turmoil as he reaffirmed US security ties with Seoul in the face of North Korea’s threats.
“What sets democracies apart from other systems is precisely how we respond to challenges, including internal challenges,” Blinken said at a joint press briefing Monday with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-Yul in Seoul.
The Biden administration had directly expressed to the government serious concerns about President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law in early December, but Blinken said he had “tremendous confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy.”
He also condemned Pyongyang’s latest missile launch detected around lunchtime, just after his meeting with Acting President Choi Sang-mok. The secretary additionally raised concerns about Russia’s space technology cooperation with North Korea.
Blinken’s visit to South Korea came amid questions over Seoul’s ability to manage impeachments and probes of its president and prime minister without further political or economic instability that leaves it more vulnerable on the global stage.
Yoon continues to hold out at his residence in defiance of repeated demands to appear for questioning. Attempts by corruption investigators to arrest him Friday failed as the president’s security team fended off attempts to gain access.
While the investigators have asked the police for their assistance in making the arrest, the police appear reluctant to detain security personnel if they are not taking the lead in the probe. The ongoing standoff was unavoidable throughout the visit, with protests audible from the secretary’s hotel.
For now, the nation has avoided significant violence and its democratic institutions have held strong, after the parliament overturned Yoon’s decree and launched impeachment proceedings and the investigations.
“The response that we’re seeing, and that we expect to continue to see, is one that is peaceful and fully consistent and in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law,” Blinken said. “What we’ve seen in our own as well as in other democracies that face challenges, has been a response that’s open, that’s transparent.”
“And time and again, what we’ve seen is our countries emerge stronger from those challenges,” he added.
Blinken earlier expressed confidence in South Korea’s acting leader as the two nations reaffirmed their security alliance.
“The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ confidence in the enduring strength of the US-ROK Alliance, the linchpin of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said. “He underscored the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of the ROK.”
That comment came shortly before the latest reminder of the security threat posed by Pyongyang. North Korea launched what appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missile was fired from near Pyongyang around noon local time and flew around 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) before splashing down in waters, the military added.
“We condemn the DPRK’s missile launch just today — yet another violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” Blinken said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.
The missile launch was the first of the year and comes just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. At least 40 missile firings in 2024 helped further stoke tensions between the two neighbors. Deepening defense and technology ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have amplified concerns in both Seoul and Washington.
“Now we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang, and that Putin may be close to reversing a decades-long policy by Russia and accepting DPRK’s nuclear weapons program,” he said.
He added that North Korea and China were the biggest enablers for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Blinken met with South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok in Seoul as part of a trip that spans from Asia to Europe as his stint as secretary of state winds to a close. Finance Minister Choi is South Korea’s second acting leader since President Yoon was impeached last month for his short-lived martial law declaration. The Constitutional Court is deliberating whether to finalize the impeachment motion against Yoon.
The political turmoil in Seoul coincides with North Korea’s growing military cooperation with Russia, with Kim Jong Un sending troops to join the war in Ukraine.
--With assistance from Soo-Hyang Choi.
(Adds more details on North Korean missile and Yoon arrest efforts)
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