Top diplomats of S. Korea and US expected to meet next week: source

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States are expected to meet next week on the sidelines of an international gathering in Germany to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear threats, a diplomatic source said Friday.

Preparations are under way to arrange a meeting between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "either on Thursday or Friday" (local time) in Bonn in time for talks of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) countries, according to the source.

This would mark the first bilateral meeting between the top diplomats of the two allies since Tillerson was sworn in earlier this month.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Yonhap)

During the meeting, they are expected to reaffirm their united approach to the North and exchange views on how to cope with the evolving threats from the North.

In a telephone conversation Tuesday, the two affirmed their commitment to enhance the bilateral alliance under the Donald Trump administration. Tillerson called the North Korean nuclear program and its continued military provocations an "immediate threat."

The Yun-Tillerson meeting is expected to be followed by talks in Washington among the top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan aimed at presenting a common front in achieving denuclearization of the North. (Yonhap)