Japan will host a meeting on North Korea later this week with senior officials from the United States and South Korea in the wake of Pyongyang's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the State Department said Monday.
The three-way meeting will be held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on Thursday, with Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korean affairs, planning to discuss maintaining close cooperation with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, the department said.
North Korea test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile in three months last week, logging a record flight time for any projectile launched by Pyongyang.
The three diplomats will engage in an "in-depth discussion about promoting peace and security in the region and encouraging (North Korea) to return to substantive negotiations," the U.S. department said.
But North Korea has shown no signs of ending its rapid development of nuclear and missile technologies.
The Japanese and South Korean diplomats set to participate in the meeting are Takehiro Funakoshi and Kim Gunn, respectively, who are each responsible for dealing with North Korean affairs.