In South Korea, which is in the midst of political turmoil following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japan, Blinken intends to highlight the expansion of U.S. cooperation with both nations as part of the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives late Sunday in crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday, with the country mired in political turmoil as its impeached president resists arrest.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit South Korea early next week, sources said Friday, in what would be the first such trip by the U.S. top diplomat since President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.