TRILATERAL TALKS TO TAKE PLACE IN TOKYO

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Intelligence chiefs of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are scheduled to hold a meeting in Tokyo this week. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines is known to be considering visiting South Korea after wrapping up her schedule in Tokyo. Her visit will likely be a crucial occasion to coordinate the two allies' North Korea policies ahead of the upcoming summit between presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden.

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Avril Haines is the first woman to serve as the director of national intelligence. The post leads 15 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, and gives daily briefings to the president. On her first overseas trip since taking office, Haines will visit Japan this week to hold a meeting with her South Korean and Japanese counterparts Park Jie-won and Hiroaki Takizawa. The three are expected to share information and decisions on North Korea. Haines has said that Pyongyang may stage a provocation based on its diplomatic calculations.

[Soundbite] Avril Haines(U.S. DNI(Apr. 29))

As the Biden administration was designing its policies toward the North, the national security heads of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan sat down together last month. This week's talks between the spy chiefs comes after last week's meeting between the three countries' top diplomats. This indicates the importance the Biden administration places on cooperation with South Korea and Japan. Haines is also considering visiting South Korea after wrapping up her stay in Japan. She will reportedly fly to Seoul to meet with presidential national security advisor Suh Hoon. They will likely focus on coordinating the two countries' North Korea policies, ahead of the summit between presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, which is slated for May 21. Seoul is expected to ask Washington to actively use strategies to bring the North back to diplomacy.