US, Japan and South Korea to Hold Trilateral Meeting on Pyongyang’s Nuke Program

Growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region caused by North Korea’s increasingly aggressive nuclear program will be discussed at a December 13 trilateral meeting between South Korea, Japan and the US, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The talks are intended to strengthen international sanctions against North Korea and solidify the unilateral sanctions of the three countries against Pyongyang.

"Opinions on the North and its nuclear issue will be exchanged (during the meeting)," the ministry said in a news release.

The parties will also possibly discuss a potential threat posed by North Korea before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the ministry said.

The meeting will include top nuclear envoys familiar with North Korea's nuclear program. Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will meet with Joseph Yun, US special representative for North Korea policy, and Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

The talks come following last week's adoption of a new set of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council, aimed at punishing North Korea for nuclear tests it conducted in September.

The sanctions mainly focus on stifling financial exchange between Pyongyang and the rest of the world, as a means to prevent further development of the country's nuclear and missile programs, as well as restrict its coal exports.

South Korea also announced the blacklisting of scores of North Koreans, specifically restricting their trade with South Korean entities.