Seoul, U.S. to Refine DPRK Policy

South Korea and the United States are expected to hold senior-level consultations March 26-28 to discuss follow-up measures to last week's Seoul-Washington summit, a South Korean government source said Monday.

A three-way dialogue on North Korea is also expected to take place in Seoul between South Korea, Japan and the U.S.

"At the South Korea-United States talks, both sides will try to bridge differences on North Korea policy on the basis of the agreement reached last week in Washington," a senior government official said.

South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Yim Sung-joon's will lead the talks with either acting Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard or James Kelly, who has been nominated to the post but not yet confirmed.

Coming in the wake of inter-Korean cabinet-level talks, which began Tuesday,the two sides are also expected to discuss North Korea's reaction to the Seoul-Washington summit.

"At the three-way talks, which are expected to take place after the South Korea-U.S. talks, the countries will seek ways to solidify their alliance on North Korea," the official said.

The three-way forum, formerly called the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group, was formed to deal with North Korea issues.

by Lee Chul-hee