The U.S. secretary of state aimed to show that his country stood by South Korea as it grapples with a political crisis, and as Donald J. Trump returns to power.
Many foreign media analyses suggest that the visit aims to solidify President Joe Biden's political legacy in terms of the US' "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and strengthen relations with Asian allies such as South Korea and Japan.
For weeks, impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has holed up inside his guarded residential compound, as government officials try to figure out how to detain him and search the premises.Scuffles broke out late last week as dozens of investigators were stopped from entering the compound by hundreds of presidential security forces and a barricade.
There have been tensions in the Pacific region recently, with Russia allegedly providing North Korea with military equipment and training.View on euronews
North Korea said Tuesday it successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, claiming the weapon would "reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region."
The government has little to show for the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on pro-natal policies over nearly two decades.
By developing hypersonic weapons and testing them before the presidential changeover in the United States, North Korea has a significant bargaining chip to use for whenever the new Trump administration comes looking to continue their previous diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.
The launch event came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.
Pyongyang's first test-fire of 2025 came as Blinken, America's top diplomat, met with South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok. Choi assumed the interim role after the South Korean Parliament voted to impeach a second president in two weeks.
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile Monday, Japan’s coast guard said, ratcheting up tensions in the region as political turmoil continues in neighboring South Korea.
North Korea claims a successful solid-fuel IRBM launch, but South Korea and experts remain skeptical of its performance and hypersonic tech.