S. Korea’s top nuclear envoy arrives in Beijing for talks on N. Korea

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s top nuclear envoy arrived in Beijing on Thursday to discuss North Korean denuclearization issues with his Chinese counterpart.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, is scheduled to meet Kong Xuanyou, China’s point man on the Korean peninsula affairs, in Beijing on Friday.

Both Lee and Kong are chief delegates to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program. The forum also involves the United States, Russia and Japan, and its last session was held in December 2008.

Their upcoming meeting comes a week after Kong had talks with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in Moscow. Choe and Kong also had a trilateral meeting joined by Russia’s top nuclear envoy, Igor Morgulov.

“I’ll be getting information from China about things that were discussed at the trilateral meeting in Russia,” Lee told Yonhap News Agency after landing at Beijing Capital International Airport. “We’ll also exchange ideas on topics that were previously discussed between us, such as North Korea’s nuclear issues.”

Asked about whether he plans to meet other Chinese authorities or North Korean officials during his stay in Beijing, Lee said he hasn’t set any additional meetings besides the talks with Kong.

Ahead of possible summit between the U.S. and North Korea, Lee said Choe and Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, are expected to meet after taking formal steps.

After his visit to Russia, Biegun has been reportedly touring western European nations, including Belgium and France.

“Biegun is moving under his own schedule, and he has already met with the representatives of the six-party talks except Choe,” Lee said. “I expect him to talk with Choe in the future after going through a formal procedure, not through an informal channel.”

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, Lee Do-hoon, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2018, one day ahead of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Kong Xuanyou. (Yonhap)