Blinken meets with Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul as they participate in the US-RoK Foreign and Defense Ministerial meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that negotiators have made "good progress" toward a deal that would bring a ceasefire in Israel's offensive in Lebanon. The top US diplomat said that Washington was "working very hard" on concluding arrangements on a deal that would include the withdrawal of Shiite militia Hezbollah from the border region with Israel.

Blinken called again for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, dating from 2006, which calls for the disarmament of non-state groups in Lebanon and a full Israeli withdrawal from the country.