Working-level Talks

[Anchor Lead]

The working-level talks between Pyongyang and Washington are gaining speed as the two sides prepare for a second summit. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun is to visit Seoul on February 3.

[Pkg]

The U.S. State Department has announced that Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will visit Seoul on February 3. He will meet with Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon. The State Department said that Biegun will also hold a follow-up meeting with his North Korean counterpart. The two sides will reportedly discuss follow-up measures for making progress in Pyongyang's final, fully-verified denuclearization.

[Soundbite] Stephen Biegun(U.S. Special Representative for North Korea)

Sources say that the North Korean "counterpart" is special envoy for U.S. affairs Kim Hyok-chol. The two sides are expected to hold in-depth discussions of Pyongyang's denuclearization steps and Washington's reciprocal measures ahead of the second summit scheduled for late February. In his lecture at Stanford University, Stephen Biegun said recently that Kim Jong-un had pledged to dismantle plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities.

[Soundbite] Stephen Biegun(U.S. Special Representative for North Korea)

Stephen Biegun stressed the importance of grasping the entire scope of the North's weapons of mass destruction and missile program in order to achieve final denuclearization. He also said that the U.S. has prepared contingency measures should the diplomatic approach fail.