Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S. and Japan likely to hold meeting this month

The meeting of the nuclear envoys of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo could be held as early
as this month.
Shin Se-min has more on what the first such an event to take place since the launch of
the new U.S. administration.
The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are likely to hold their first
three-way meeting since Donald Trump took office... in Washington as soon as the middle
of this month.
The last meeting of the three sides was in December.
According to a South Korean diplomatic source, Seoul will send its special representative
for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Kim Hong-kyun,... Washington its Special Representative
for North Korean policy Joseph Yun... and Tokyo will be represented by the Director
General of its Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau, Kenji Kanasugi.
If the meeting does take place, the three envoys are expected to discuss ways to cope
with Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program... while working to bring the regime back to
the table for dialogue on denuclearization.
It's also highly likely that the meeting will see the Trump Administration clarify its policy
on North Korea,… coming soon after the confirmations of U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The discussion could also touch on how to respond to Pyongyang's potential test-firing
of an intercontinental ballistic missile expected around the birthday of its former leader Kim
Jong-il on February 16th.
Apart from the trilateral meeting, Seoul's nuclear envoy is likely to hold two-way meetings
with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts to take up issues like bolstering cooperation
with Japan on North Korea's threats.
Seoul's foreign ministry official said the details of the trilateral meeting and its
timing are still under discussion, with all parties wanting to hold it as early in the
Trump Administration as possible, as agreed in talks last year.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S. and Japan likely to hold meeting this month

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