US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday (6) that Washington wanted to see a ceasefire agreement in Gaza concluded and the hostages released within the next two weeks.
A new effort is underway to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas and return Israeli hostages before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, Blinken said.
“We really want to finish this in the next two weeks, whatever time we have left,” Blinken said during a joint news conference in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul.
Blinken is in South Korea this week to meet with senior government officials to reaffirm the alliance with Seoul, according to the US State Department.
Amid political turmoil in South Korea during his visit, Blinken said on Monday (6) that Washington has full confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy.
Shortly after Blinken met with the country’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, North Korea fired what appeared to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile into the sea.
Monday’s launch (6) was Pyongyang’s first since November 5, when it fired at least seven short-range ballistic missiles.
“We condemn the DPRK’s missile launches today. Yet another violation of several UN Security Council resolutions,” said Blinken, who also warned about Pyongyang’s deepening ties with Moscow.
He said Washington believes Russia intends to share space and satellite technology with North Korea in exchange for its support for the war in Ukraine, in which more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured.
This content was originally published in Blinken wants conclusion of ceasefire agreement in Gaza in the coming weeks on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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