Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US state department, is seen answering questions during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington on Thursday. (US Department of State)

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would welcome any future opportunity to engage with his South Korean counterpart, a state department spokesperson said Thursday.

Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, however, said he had nothing to announce when asked about a possible meeting between Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Washington.

"The secretary has had the opportunity to engage with the foreign minister on a number of occasions in bilateral settings and multilateral settings, and we, of course, would look forward to any future opportunity to do that as well," the spokesperson told a daily press briefing.

"But I don't have any specifics to offer," he added.

Diplomatic sources in Seoul earlier said the top South Korean diplomat was seeking to visit Washington before Blinken takes his planned trip to China on Feb. 5-6.

State department officials, including press secretary Ned Price, have said North Korea will be a key topic of talks between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart. (Yonhap)