US, Japanese, South Korean Officials to Meet on DPRK Nuclear Issue

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 18, 2003

US, Japanese, South Korean Officials to Meet on DPRK Nuclear Issue

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Senior officials from the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea are to meet in Washington on Friday to coordinate positions before a possible meeting on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Beijing next week, the State Department said Thursday.

"Assistant Secretary (of State) (James) Kelly will hold consultations tomorrow with visiting officials from Seoul and Tokyo," Spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing.

"He'll be talking about his upcoming talks in Beijing that we expect in the near future, possibly as early as next week, with the North Koreans (DPRK people) and the Chinese together," he said.

Boucher said the talks will be part of the United States' ongoing and very close consultations with its South Korean and Japanese allies.

According to reports, Japan's director general of Asian and Oceanian affairs, Mitoji Yabunaka, is already in Washington, while South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck is also on his way to the US capital.

Senior officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet regularly to consult and coordinate policies toward the Korean peninsula.

The trilateral meeting is arranged after US officials disclosedon Wednesday that a meeting may be held on April 23-25 in Beijing involving the United States, China and the DPRK.

The meeting, if confirmed, will mark the first face-to-face talks between the United States and the DPRK since Washington accused Pyongyang of conducting clandestine nuclear program last October.

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