Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel later this week to Tokyo, Naypyitaw, Seoul, and Beijing to consult with U.S. allies in the region; see first-hand progress in Burma’s post-election democratic transition; conduct the interim Strategic Security Dialogue with the Chinese government; and discuss a range of other regional and global issues. This is the Deputy Secretary’s third visit to Northeast Asia in the last 11 months, and his second trip to Burma.
In Tokyo, Deputy Secretary Blinken will meet with his Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) counterparts in both bilateral and trilateral meetings to discuss a variety of topics including the recent North Korean nuclear test, regional issues, and cooperation on global priorities including health security and development.
In Naypyitaw, the Deputy Secretary will meet with key officials involved in Burma’s democratic transition.
In Seoul, Deputy Secretary Blinken is expected to meet with senior level ROK officials to discuss a range of bilateral issues, including our rock solid commitment to ROK security in the face of recent DPRK provocations.
In Beijing, Deputy Secretary Blinken will meet with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui to conduct the second interim Strategic Security Dialogue and discuss further cooperation on North Korea’s destabilizing activity in the region. The Deputy Secretary will also meet with Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhang Zhijun.