Senior U.S. diplomat to visit S. Korea next week

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. diplomat will visit South Korea next week for talks on response to North Korea's nuclear test, the alliance between the two countries and global issues of concern, the State Department said Friday.

Amb. Thomas Shannon, counselor of the State Department, will make the visit on Wednesday and Thursday, including a trip to the Demilitarized Zone on the border with North Korea and bilateral meetings with Korean officials on the "U.S.-Korea Alliance, our shared global priorities, and response to recent North Korean provocations," the department said.

Before South Korea, Shannon plans to visit Tokyo today through Wednesday for meetings with the political directors of the Group of Seven industrialized countries to discuss various topics as they prepare for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting hosted by Japan later in the year, the department said.

While in Tokyo, Shannon will meet with a wide range of Japanese leaders to discuss regional security, the U.S.-Japan Alliance, a common approach to global challenges, and other bilateral issues, it said.

On the way back to Washington, he will stop in Hawaii for consultations with leaders of the U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu, the department said.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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