(LEAD) Allies agree to pursue closer coordination over N.K. nukes

All News 11:42 October 20, 2017

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS more info throughout)

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States agreed Friday to strengthen their coordination on the North Korea nuclear issue and find ways to prod China and Russia into reining in the North, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon held a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joseph Yun to discuss how to respond to the issue of North Korea's nuclear program, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The envoys shared the need to seek cooperation with major partners based on a close Seoul-Washington alliance. In particular, they agreed to beef up efforts to elicit constructive roles by China and Russia (in reining in the North)," the ministry said in a statement.

Lee and Yun also discussed ways to handle the North Korea nuclear standoff through diplomacy including sanctions and pressure and to bring North Korea to "sincere" talks for denuclearization, it said.

Yun is in Seoul for a series of meetings on the issue, including a trilateral meeting among the top nuclear envoys of Seoul, Washington and Japan.

The meeting came a few weeks ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to South Korea and Japan. As part of his trip to Asia, Trump plans to visit Seoul on Nov. 7-8 following a three-day visit to Tokyo.

"For Washington, being together and being well coordinated with Seoul is (our) No. 1 priority," Yun said at the start of the meeting. "There are many occasions for our leaders to engage each other to coordinate our positions to have a very solid and joint approach as we go forward," Yun said.

Tensions have heightened amid North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and exchanges of inflammatory rhetoric between Trump and the North Korean leadership.