South Korea’s top envoy on North Korea’s nuclear issue will visit the United States this week for talks with key U.S. security officials, the foreign ministry said Monday. Vice Minister for diplomatic strategy and intelligence Jeong Yeon-doo will travel to Washington from Tuesday to Friday, marking his first trip to the U.S. since taking the post late last year. Jeong will meet with Allison Hooker, under secretary of state for political affairs; Thomas DiNanno, under secretary for arms control and international security; Michael DeSombre, assistant secretary at the East Asian and Pacific bureau; and others. The meetings will focus on sharing assessments of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and exchanging views on other peninsula issues, based on the two countries’ joint fact sheet on trade and defense, the ministry said. Following summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and President Donald Trump in August and September, the countries released a joint fact sheet in November, detailing their agreements on issues ranging from investment to security.
