U.S. nuclear envoy to visit South Korea, Japan

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, the Trump administration’s main representative for North Korea, will visit South Korea on Tuesday before heading to Japan, Yonhap reported Saturday, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.

Biegun will visit Seoul on Tuesday, where he is likely to meet South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon along with diplomatic officials at the foreign ministry and the presidential office, according to Yonhap. The U.S. official is expected to hold an informal briefing in Seoul, and spend a couple of days in the country before departing for Tokyo, the news agency said.

Biegun’s visit comes amid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui on Saturday lashed out at the U.S. and drew a line against holding further talks, only weeks after the country blew up an inter-Korean liaison office it shared with the South.

Biegun may be accompanied by National Security Council Senior Director for Asian affairs Allison Hooker when he visits South Korea, Yonhap reported a source as saying.