South Korea to hold high-level diplomatic dialogue with US, Japan next week: Officials

Seoul, Oct 11 (IANS) South Korea is in talks with the United States and Japan to hold a trilateral meeting among their vice foreign ministers next week, officials said Friday.

The three-way talks are expected to take place in Seoul, led by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, Yonhap news agency reported.

Campbell is expected to fly in from Tokyo early next week as part of his visit to the two Asian allies.

"We are coordinating with the US and Japan to hold a vice foreign ministers' meeting next week," a foreign ministry official in Seoul said on condition of anonymity.

"The three countries plan to discuss North Korea, regional and global issues, as well as ways to develop the trilateral cooperation," the official said.

Speaking at a business event in Washington on Thursday, Campbell unveiled the plan for his visit to meet with his counterparts in South Korea and Japan.

The tripartite meeting comes as Seoul and Washington are seeking to further cement the three-way partnership with Tokyo, especially with the leadership change in Japan with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and with the US presidential election less than a month away.

The leaders of the three countries declared a new chapter in their partnership at the trilateral Camp David summit in August last year. The summit produced a series of agreements, including the "Commitment to Consult" each other in the event of a shared threat.

The three sides have since taken follow-up steps to further solidify the partnership in line with the Camp David summit. Next week's vice-ministerial meeting, if held, will be the second such gathering after the previous talks held in May at Campbell's private retreat at Iron Bell Farm.

At their last meeting, the three countries agreed to establish a "coordinating body" to "institutionalise" the trilateral cooperation.

Discussions on the forming of such a mechanism are expected to be among the main agenda items at next week's talks.

They are also likely to discuss North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, as Pyongyang has been ratcheting up tensions with its recent unveiling of a uranium enrichment facility and continued launches of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea.

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