Kim Gunn (R), South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, poses for a photo with Sung Kim (L), U.S. special envoy for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, during their talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons in the Japanese town of Karuizawa, Nagano, on July 20, 2023, in this file photo provided by Seoul’s foreign ministry. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States are set to meet in Indonesia on Monday to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile developments, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
Kim Gunn, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will hold a bilateral meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, later in the day, according to the ministry.
On Tuesday, Kim will meet separately with his Japanese counterpart, Hiroyuki Namazu, and the three will also hold trilateral talks.
The top agenda items are expected to include concerns over a possible arms deal between the North and Russia, as well as Pyongyang’s strong push to bolster its nuclear armament.
Last month’s rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has sparked speculation that North Korea may have agreed to supply Russia with ammunition and weaponry for its war in Ukraine in exchange for a transfer of weapons technology from Moscow.
North Korea stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in its constitution at its key parliamentary meeting in September.
Kim Jong-un has labeled the trilateral security cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as “the worst actual threat” and vowed to bolster his country’s nuclear capability.
The upcoming trilateral meeting will mark the first in-person meeting of the three sides since Japan appointed Namazu in August.
The three envoys last held talks in Japan in July.
(Yonhap)
