Talks set among U.S., S. Korea, Japan

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Talks on North Korea among South Korea, the United States and Japan are set for next month in Washington, a South Korean foreign ministry official said.

The talks would the first among the three nations following the death the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il earlier this month.

"The date has not been decided but the trilateral meeting is likely to be held in the third week of January," the official said.

Yonhap news agency reported the meeting would be among the three nation's chief nuclear envoys – South Korea's Lim Sung-nam, Japan's Shinsuke Sugiyama and Kurt Campbell of the United States.

Campbell, who is the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Asian and Pacific affairs, is scheduled to visit South Korea, China and Japan next week.

In North Korea, the departed leader's youngest son, Kim Jong Un has been named the new leader although not much is known about the young man, who is believed to be in his late 20s.

The six-nation talks to end North Korea's nuclear program remain stalled since 2008 after Pyongyang walked out over U.N. resolutions against its program. Other members in the talks are South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and United States.

Prior to Kim Jong Il's death, there had been a flurry of diplomatic efforts to restart the talks.