ROK's top nuclear envoy to visit Washington

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's top nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam will visit the United States this week for talks over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear issues, the foreign ministry here said Monday.

Lim, who represents the Republic of Korea at six-party talks aimed at dismantling the DPRK's nuclear program, will meet with his US counterpart Glyn Davies and other officials during his three-day Washington trip starting Tuesday.

The visit comes after Lim's talks with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing earlier this month.

The disarmament negotiations, which also involve the United States, Japan and Russia, were last held in December 2008.

The DPRK walked out of the aid-for-denuclearization talks in April 2009 in protest of fresh UN sanctions, but has since expressed its wish to return to the negotiating table.

Analysts say recent satellite images indicated that Pyongyang had resumed work on a light water reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, which could potentially support its nuclear program.