US: Blinken, Austin to visit Tokyo, Seoul next week

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Japan and South Korea (ROK) next week, marking the first foreign travel of the new administration, according to the State Department.

The three-day trip will "reaffirm the United States' commitment to strengthening our alliances and to highlight cooperation that promotes peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Blinken and Austin are set to attend the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting in Tokyo hosted by their Japan counterparts, Price said.

Blinken will also meet virtually with Japanese business leaders and journalists to discuss several topics including economic ties, "the role of a free press in promoting good governance and defending democracy" and gender equality.

On March 17, Blinken and Austin will have a similar joint meeting with their South Korean counterparts in Seoul. Blinken will also meet virtually with journalists to "discuss the importance of the U.S.-ROK Alliance in promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and across the globe," said Price.