Seoul, Beijing to weigh regional issues

• Tweet

SEOUL, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Seoul's nuclear envoy is visiting Beijing to discus regional issues amid missile concerns.

The ministry reported that Seoul's nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam is scheduled Thursday in Beijing to "assess the current situation of the Korean Peninsula and exchange views on China's policy to North Korea under the new leadership," the Yonhap news agency reports.

Earlier this month, the Communist Party in Beijing elected Xi Jinping to succeed President Hu Jintao as the party secretary-general. Nuclear talks between China, both Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States have been idled since 2008.

Talks in Beijing follow reports that North Korea may be preparing to launch a missile in the coming months. A string of reports based on satellite imagery suggested that activity at reported launch sites in North Korea is indicative of an imminent launch.

North Korean nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 coincided with missile launches. The government there tried, but failed, to send a satellite into orbit on a long-range rocket in April despite pledging to hold off on military and nuclear tests.