Hong Kong. February 12. INTERFAX-US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Jong Yong agreed to strengthen the alliance of the two countries and discussed the problem of the DPRK during a telephone conversation.
"Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of continuing cooperation between the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, and stressed the need for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
In turn, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said: "The Minister and the Secretary of State stressed that they will work closely together for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
State Department spokesman said that the Secretary of state congratulated the new Minister on his appointment and "promised a full partnership to strengthen the power of the US Alliance and the Republic of Korea, which is the basis of peace, security and prosperity for North-East Asia, a free and open Indo-Pacific region and around the world."
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry stressed that the parties agreed to continue to develop the alliance in order to contribute to responding to unresolved global challenges and promoting common values.
In addition, Blinken and Jong Yong are scheduled to hold high-level consultations to discuss outstanding bilateral issues.
"They also shared (...) concern about the recent situation in Myanmar, " a U.S. State Department official said in a statement.
Shortly after taking office late last month, Blinken held telephone conversations with former ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa.
Then they agreed that the issue of the DPRK is "urgent" and agreed to work closely on its solution.