ROK nuke envoy to visit Washington for talks with US, Japanese counterparts

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's top nuclear envoy will visit Washington this weekend for talks with his US and Japanese counterparts about the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

Noh Kyu-duk, ROK special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will make a four-day trip to Washington from Saturday.

During the trip, Noh will have bilateral and trilateral discussions with his US and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The ministry said that through the visit to Washington, there would be in-depth consultation over cooperation among the three sides for a complete denuclearization of and lasting peace settlement in the peninsula.

Denuclearization talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States have been stalled since the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and former US President Donald Trump ended without agreement in February 2019 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The ROK and the DPRK restored their direct communication hotlines on Oct 4 after a two-month suspension.