Takehiro Funakoshi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau speaks during a meeting with his South Korean counter part Kim Gunn and U.S. counterpart Sung Kim at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo
North Korea is “always welcome” at the negotiating table, Japan’s nuclear envoy Takehiro Funakoshi said on Wednesday as he prepared to meet with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts to discuss their strategy to deal with Pyongyang.
The three nations are tightening their cooperation as tension rises in the wake of recent North Korean moves such as an unusual number of missile launches, with Wednesday’s meeting following a gathering of their security advisers in Hawaii last week.