US envoy to visit Seoul for UN peacekeeping conference

Seoul, Nov 21 (IANS) US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield will make her first visit to South Korea next month for a ministerial conference on peacekeeping operations, sources said on Sunday.

South Korea is set to host the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial on December 7 and 8, Yonhap News Agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

About 570 South Korean troops were operating for UN peacekeeping operations in seven countries, including Lebanon and South Sudan, as of last year, according to the 2020 edition of South Korea's defence white paper.

The trip by Thomas-Greenfield marks the third visit to Seoul by a top official under the Joe Biden administration.

In March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Seoul for a joint meeting with their South Korean counterparts.