Seoul (The Hawk): High-level discussions on regional and international security issues were held on Wednesday amid worries that North Korea might conduct a nuclear test. Senior diplomats from South Korea, the US, and Japan attended.
First Vice Foreign Minister of South Korea Cho Hyun-dong met in Tokyo with his counterparts from the United States and Japan, Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori, to discuss strategies for dealing with North Korea's evolving threats, which have been highlighted by a spate of ballistic missile launches in recent weeks, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The meeting this week took place amid widespread rumours that the Kim Jong-un regime may soon proceed with a new nuclear test and commit new provocations.
Seoul government officials report that the shrouded North is reportedly ready to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017.
The diplomats' most recent trilateral meeting took place in June in Seoul.
In just three weeks starting in late September, North Korea launched nearly a dozen ballistic missiles, bringing its tally for the year to 44, making it the country with the most launches in a calendar year.
A 2018 inter-Korean agreement on reducing military tensions established maritime buffer zones in the East and Yellow seas. Earlier this month, the reclusive nation fired hundreds of artillery shots into those zones.
(Inputs from Agencies)