Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet this week for talks on N. Korea's ICBM test

▲ North Korea fires a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on July 12, 2023, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the launch and the missile flew 1,001 kilometers for 4,491 seconds at a maximum altitude of 6,648 km before splashing into the East Sea, the North said. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

nuclear envoys-Japan meeting

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet this week for talks on N. Korea's ICBM test

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Japan this week to discuss North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

The trilateral meeting will be held Thursday in Karuizawa, involving U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Sung Kim, Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director General Takehiro Funakoshi and South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn, according to the department.

"The three officials will discuss maintaining close trilateral cooperation, especially following the DPRK's unlawful ICBM launch on July 12, which was Pyongyang's 12th ICBM launch since the beginning of 2022," it said of the upcoming meeting in a released statement.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

The statement added that the U.S. special envoy "looks forward to meeting him and Special Representative Kim Gunn for an in-depth discussion about promoting peace and security in the region and encouraging the DPRK to return to substantive negotiations."

The scheduled meeting comes after the United Nations Security Council failed to impose additional sanctions on North Korea for its latest ICBM test due to opposition from China and Russia, both veto power-wielding permanent members of the Security Council and friendly supporters of North Korea.

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