Blinken stresses need for 'unified' action against N. Korea's 'destabilizing' activities

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday for "unified" action against North Korea's "destabilizing" activities during an annual regional summit involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos, a State Department spokesperson said.

Blinken made the call during the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Vientiane as tensions have continued on the Korean Peninsula with Pyongyang doubling down on its nuclear and missile programs, launching trash-carrying balloons to South Korea and unleashing tough rhetoric against Seoul.

"He reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to maintaining open channels of communication with the PRC and called for unified action against the DPRK's destabilizing activities," Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, said in a statement after the summit.

PRC and DPRK stand for the official names of China and North Korea, the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively.

At the U.S.-ASEAN summit, the secretary also addressed what he called destabilizing actions by North Korea, according to Miller.

With the U.S. presidential election just weeks away, concerns have lingered that Pyongyang could engage in provocative activities to draw U.S. attention and bolster its diplomatic leverage.

During the EAS gathering, Blinken also touched on China's actions in the South and East China Seas, the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, tensions in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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