ROK's top nuke envoy to visit Washington for denuke discussion

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's top nuclear envoy will visit Washington next week to discuss issues on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the settlement of lasting peace, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will make a three-day visit to Washington from Monday to have a meeting with his US counterpart Stephen Biegun.

During the meeting, the two senior diplomats will have an in-depth discussion on ways to denuclearize the peninsula and build a permanent peace, while sharing their assessment on recent Korean Peninsula situations.

The meeting would come amid the stalled negotiations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States on the peninsula's denuclearization.

A senior-level dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington was originally scheduled to be held in New York earlier this month, but it was delayed for unspecified reasons.

During the upcoming meeting, Lee and Biegun will also discuss details to form and run a ROK-US working group, which the two allies have agreed to establish for regular communications on denuclearization, inter-Korean exchanges and sanctions on the DPRK.