U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with his South Korean counterpart, as the allies step up cooperation in the face of growing concerns over North Korea's closer military ties with Russia.
The two-day visit, the first by a U.S. secretary of state in two and a half years, is part of a broader Asia trip by Blinken that has included meetings with G7 counterparts and talks with Japanese officials in Tokyo, as well as a later stop in India amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Seoul visit comes as the United States and South Korea, along with Japan, have condemned what they say is the supply of arms and military equipment by North Korea to Russia.