S. Korean envoy on N. Korean nuke to visit U.S. next week

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top negotiator on North Korea's nuclear weapons program will visit the United States next week to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the North's nuclear program, the foreign ministry said Sunday.

Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will depart for the U.S. on Tuesday for a four-day visit, according to the ministry.

He will visit Washington, D.C. and New York to meet with his American counterpart Joseph Yun and other government officials and academic circles there.

"During his visit in the U.S., Lee plans to share (with the U.S.) his assessment on the latest conditions of North Korea and its nuclear issue, based on his recent series of consultations with concerned countries like Japan, China and Russia," the ministry said.

"On the basis of this, (he) will have in-depth discussions on details of how to bring North Korea toward the process of denuclearization through various diplomatic efforts," the ministry also noted.

This marks the two envoys' second meeting in a month. Lee and Yun met on Nov. 17 on South Korea's Jeju Island on the sidelines of a U.N. meeting on disarmament and nonproliferation.

It will also shortly follow Lee's meeting on Monday with Russian Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, top negotiator on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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