▲ Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, arrives at Seoul's Gimpo airport on June 21, 2023. He's in Seoul to brief South Korean officials on the outcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent meeting. (Yonhap)

US official-Seoul visit

Senior U.S. diplomat arrives in Seoul to brief officials on Xi-Blinken meeting

SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. diplomat arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to brief government officials on a recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who recently accompanied the secretary of state on his visit to Beijing, held a luncheon meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-sam.

Upon his arrival, Kritenbrink told reporters that he will explain about Blinken's visit to Beijing to his counterparts in Seoul.

He is also scheduled to meet First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin at the ministry later in the day. The U.S. official is expected to explain the outcome of Blinken's trip to China and discuss ways to further strengthen Washington's alliance with Seoul.

On Tuesday, he met with Japanese officials in Tokyo to brief them on Blinken's meeting with Xi, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

Ahead of his Beijing trip, Blinken held phone talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, expressing his support for Seoul's efforts to improve its ties with China in a "healthy and mature" way based on mutual respect.

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