State Department Press Conference Underway Shortly

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price is shortly due to brief the press from the Department of State.

• Livestream: https://www.state.gov/todays-briefing-schedule/
• Comes as President Biden yesterday appeared to contradict remarks from his South Korean counterpart President Yoon Suk-yeol suggesting that the two countries were discussing joint exercises using US nuclear assets.
• Yoon said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper: "The nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing, exercises and training should be jointly conducted by South Korea and the United States."
• Biden told reporters, “no” when asked if joint nuclear exercises with South Korea were being prepared.
• Also over the weekend, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call with incoming Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Qin was appointed to the post last week to replace Wang Yi who will be promoted to the Politburo and play a greater role in shaping Chinese foreign policy.
• On Twitter, Blinken said he and Qin discussed the US-China relationship and efforts to maintain open lines of communication. China's foreign ministry issued a statement acknowledging the communication.