In this file photo, taken on June, 21, 2021, S. Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk (R), and his U.S. counterpart Sung Kim pose for a picture in Seoul ahead of talks on North Korea. (Photo: Yonhap)
South Korea's top nuclear envoy will head to Washington to discuss joint efforts to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table.
The planned talks among Noh Kyu-duk, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, come as Seoul steps up diplomatic efforts to salvage its peace drive in the wake a series of North Korean missile launches last month.
Noh and Kim are expected to meet bilaterally on Monday and hold a trilateral meeting with Funakoshi the following day.
Noh is also likely to hold two-way talks with Funakoshi on Tuesday.
The three officials last met in September in Tokyo to explore ways to engage North Korea, including through humanitarian assistance and other incentives.
"Through the visit to Washington this time, we expect that there will be in-depth consultations over cooperation among the three countries for the complete denuclearization and the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," Seoul's foreign ministry said in press release Friday.
There are expectations the envoys will also discuss President Moon Jae-in's proposal to formally end the Korean War.
Ahead of his trip, Noh met Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and called for Moscow's cooperation on efforts to reopen stalled dialogue with Pyongyang.
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