U.S., Japan, S.Korea prepare for possible meeting on N.Korea -report

[September 07, 2021]  TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea and Japan are preparing for a possible meeting of officials handling North Korea next week in Tokyo, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Sung Kim talks to reporters after meeting with Noh Kyu-duk (not in picture), South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, at Plaza Hotel, in Seoul, South Korea August 23, 2021. Pool via REUTERS/Chung Sung-Jun

Arrangements were being made for talks between the U.S. envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, the report said, citing multiple unnamed sources.

The officials would discuss the feasibility of attempts by the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden to open dialogue with North Korea in pursuit of denuclearisation, Kyodo said.

Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will participate, as will Noh Kyu-duk, the South Korean foreign ministry's special representative for Korean peninsula peace and security affairs.

It would be the first meeting of the three countries since they met  in Seoul in June, the news agency said.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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