SEOUL– U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will visit South Korea next week for talks expected to center on North Korea and other issues facing the two countries, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Sherman is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for a three-day visit and meet with her counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, on Friday for a vice-ministerial policy dialogue, according to the ministry.
Before flying to Seoul, Sherman will be in Japan where she plans to hold talks with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, as well as a trilateral vice ministerial meeting that will include Choi.
While in Tokyo, Choi also plans to meet bilaterally with Mori, officials said.
“The visit by U.S. Deputy Secretary Sherman will offer an occasion that will further strengthen coordination between South Korea and the United States on the Korean Peninsula, regional and global issues,” the foreign ministry said.
In Seoul, Sherman and Choi are expected to discuss efforts to reengage with Pyongyang to move the stalled denuclearization talks forward. Also on the table will likely be the follow-up measures to the outcome of the May 21 summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, particularly on expanding cooperation in supply chains for vital products like memory chips.
While in Tokyo, the three are also expected to discuss the shared challenges, including dealing with an assertive China, as the Biden administration has been intent on bringing the two Asian allies closer for stronger trilateral cooperation in the region.
It will also mark the first time for the three countries to resume the vice-ministerial talks in nearly four years. The three-way dialogue, launched in 2015, had taken place at least once every year until 2017 but remained inactive during the Donald Trump administration.
Source: Yonhap News Agency