Seoul, Washington to hold talks on N.K. nukes

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States were to hold talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program and other security issues, the foreign ministry said. Shin Dong-ik, Seoul's deputy minister for multilateral and global affairs, will represent South Korea in the talks with Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, according to the ministry. The meeting will also be attended by Frank Rose, U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance, and Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation. Seoul and Washington have been holding annual consultations on disarmament and nonproliferation since 2013 to beef up cooperation over global security issues. Before the talks, Gottemoeller will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Cho Tae-yul, a vice foreign minister, the government said. Gottemoeller arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit before flying to China for the U.S.-China Security Dialogue. Rose also flew to Seoul from Myanmar on Thursday as part of a four-nation trip that also includes China and Britain. He will attend the security talks in Beijing with Gottemoeller. Rose held talks with his Seoul counterpart, Ryu Je-seung, on Thursday to discuss North Korea's growing online threats and arms control. sooyeon@yna.co.kr (END)