WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to the defense of South Korea and Japan in a call with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Friday, the State Department said.

Blinken expressed his appreciation for South Korea's "concerted efforts to improve its relationship with Japan and secure the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

The two also discussed stability in the Indo-Pacific, including the Taiwan Strait, Price added.

  - Reuters