Pompeo to visit Japan, ROK on denuclearization in late June

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in late June to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, said the US State Department on Monday.

Pompeo would join US President Donald Trump to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Summit slated for June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan, said the State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus at a press briefing.

Following the G20 Summit, Pompeo would accompany Trump to visit ROK, where they will meet with ROK's President Moon Jae-in on issues of denuclearization and bilateral alliance, according to Ortagus.

Before traveling to Japan and ROK, the US top diplomat would visit India and Sri Lanka as the first two stops of his Asian trip scheduled for June 24-30.

The denuclearization negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since the second summit between top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un and Trump ended with no agreement in February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.