ROK, U.S., Japan to hold talks in Seoul on denuclearization

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The Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States and Japan will hold the annual trilateral security talks later this week in Seoul, local media reported Tuesday citing ROK's Defense Ministry.

The 11th round of Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) will be held on Thursday in the headquarters of ROK's Defense Ministry in Seoul. The DTT was launched in 2008 to discuss regional security issues, including the nuclear and missile programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The meeting will be attended by ROK Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Chung Suk-hwan, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver and Takeshi Ishikawa, director general for defense policy of Japan.

ROK citizens visit the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the ROK and the DRPK, May 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

During the talks, the three sides will discuss the denuclearization of Korean Peninsula and the settlement of permanent peace there, regional security situations and the trilateral defense cooperation, the ministry said.

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The meeting will be held shortly after the DPRK fired several short-range projectiles Saturday morning into the sea from its east coast city of Wonsan.

ROK's Defense Ministry saw the projectile launches as a live-fire exercise by the DPRK, not a provocation. And U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism that he could still make a deal with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump met with Kim in Hanoi in late February, but the summit ended without a deal due to differences between Washington and Pyongyang on denuclearization and sanctions.

U.S. Special Representative for the DPRK Stephen Biegun is also scheduled to visit Tokyo and Seoul this week "to discuss efforts to advance the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea (the DPRK)."

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (R1) listens as U.S. President Donald Trump (L1) speaks during the extended bilateral meeting during their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 28, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a telephone conversation with Trump on Monday, saying that they agreed completely on the need for the DPRK to promptly denuclearize.

ROK President Moon Jae-in will hold phone talks with his U.S. counterpart on Tuesday night, according to the presidential Blue House of the ROK.

Commenting on Pyongyang's latest projectiles launch, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Monday: "We hope all parties concerned will cherish the hard-won momentum for dialogue and de-escalation and meet each other halfway to make active efforts towards denuclearization and political settlement of the issue."

(With inputs from Xinhua)

(Cover: DPRK's military conducts a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapon, May 4, 2019. /KCNA Photo via Reuters)

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