Top diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan to hold talks after N. Korea's ICBM launch

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan are scheduled to hold three-way talks Friday to discuss ways to deal with North Korea's evolving threats highlighted by this week's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US and Japanese counterparts, Antony Blinken and Yoshimasa Hayashi, respectively, were visiting Jakarta to attend annual regional meetings led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The three sides are scheduled to hold the meeting in the evening.

On Thursday, Pyongyang announced it test-fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM the previous day, with its leader Kim Jong-un vowing to take a "stronger" military offensive until the US abandons its hostile policy against his country.

In response, South Korea imposed additional sanctions on North Korea by adding four individuals and three entities to its blacklist against Pyongyang.

Park could also possibly hold a one-on-one meeting with Wang Yi, head of the foreign affairs commission of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, in Jakarta, according to the sources.

Wang, who previously served as the Chinese foreign minister, is representing China at this year's ASEAN meetings. Beijing's foreign ministry announced earlier that Qin Gang, the current foreign minister, would not attend the meetings due to health reasons.

Park is also scheduled to attend the East Asia Summit, which involves ASEAN member states, South Korea, China and Japan, as well as the United States, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand. He will also participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the region's largest security meeting.

During the ARF, Park is expected to emphasize the importance of the international community's united response to the North's unprecedented missile provocations since last year and Pyongyang's nuclear threat. (Yonhap)