South Korea's ambassador to the United States is expected to attend U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony this month as the government's representative, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

"Today, the alliance between the United States and Korea remains more essential than ever in shaping our shared future," said Secretary Blinken.

The U.S. secretary of state aimed to show that his country stood by South Korea as it grapples with a political crisis, and as Donald J. Trump returns to power.

The damaged flight data recorder from the Jeju Air passenger jet that crash-landed in South Korea will be sent to the United States for analysis, Seoul’s transport ministry said Wednesday, as bereaved families began visiting the crash site.

Dictator Kim Jong-un has claimed his hypersonic missile flew 930 miles at 12 times the speed of sound before landing in the waters between the Korean Penisula and Japan

By developing hypersonic weapons and testing them before the presidential changeover in the United States, North Korea has a significant bargaining chip to use for whenever the new Trump administration comes looking to continue their previous diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence in South Korea’s acting leader as the two nations reaffirmed their security alliance and combat readiness against North Korea at a time when Seoul is struggling to restore political stability.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency claimed a successful test of a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile.

The U.S. has responded to concerns that China might restrict the export of minerals by trying to diversify its supply chain. That included support for the recent re-opening of a long-closed tungsten mine in South Korea to secure supplies of a metal used in microchips, as well as armaments.

It can be easier to change the name of a landmark or body of water is within a country's boundaries. In 2015, then-President Barack Obama approved an order from the Department of Interior to rename Mount McKinley — the highest peak in North America — to Denali, a move that Trump has said he wants to reverse.

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