Blinken talks to Japanese, South Korean counterparts ahead of China trip

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, emphasising the importance of "sustained… trilateral cooperation" ahead of his visit to China, the State Department said on Saturday. The conversations also come as North Korea has stepped up missile launches in the past year, and Tokyo is also contending with growing pressure from Chinese vessels around islands contested with Beijing. Mr Blinken on Friday reassured Foreign Minister Park Jin of the United States' "ironclad commitment" to South Korea's defence, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Saturday. "The Secretary…