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SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea`s top nuclear envoy is likely to visit Moscow next week to meet with his Russian counterpart and discuss North Korea`s denuclearization and other peninsula issues, sources said Friday.Lee Do-hoon, representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will meet with Igor Morgulov next Friday, according to the sources, amid a stalemate in the nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea since working-level talks in Stockholm last month.Lee is also expected to participate in the three-day 2019 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference, which will kick off Thursday, and could have talks with officials from the U.S. and North Korea.The so-called Track 1.5 semi-official discussions have served as a chance for the U.S. and North Korea to sound out each other`s position at times of high tension.In 2017, North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui -- then director-general of the North American affairs bureau at the North`s foreign ministry -- took part in the conference. It is yet unclear who will be attending the forum from North Korea this year.Lee`s Moscow trip will come amid little progress in the North`s nuclear negotiations with the U.S., with Pyongyang ramping up pressure on Washington to come up with a new proposal.On Thursday, North Korea fired what it called "super-large multiple rocket launchers" toward the East Sea, marking the 12th weapons test the North has conducted this year.Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, arrives at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Oct. 10, 2019, after a three-day US visit. (Yonhap) |
