US envoy for DPRK ‘to visit ROK for 3-way meet’

US President Joe Biden listens as the Republic of Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House, May 21, 2021, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON/AP)

SEOUL – The newly appointed US envoy for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Sung Kim, will make his first visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) this week for a possible three-way meeting with counterparts from Seoul and Tokyo, a ROK foreign ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Kyodo news agency earlier had said arrangements were being made for the visit during which the officials of US, ROK and Japan would discuss the future direction of the Biden administration’s attempts to open dialogue with the DPRK in pursuit of denuclearization

The visit, from Saturday to June 24, comes after US President Joe Biden and the ROK President Moon Jae-in held their first summit in May.

READ MORE: Biden, Moon express willingness to engage DPRK

The Kyodo news agency earlier had said arrangements were being made for the visit during which the officials of the three nations would discuss the future direction of the Biden administration’s attempts to open dialogue with the DPRK in pursuit of denuclearization.

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

Sung Kim, appointed by Biden last month, is a Korean-American diplomat who had the same role under former president Barack Obama, and helped set up former president Donald Trump's summits with the North's leader, Kim Jong-un.

ALSO READ: DPRK's Kim says food situation 'tense' due to typhoons

Kim Jong-un has said his country's economy improved this year but urged measures to tackle the "tense" food situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and typhoons last year.