US Negroponte to head to North Asia this week

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will travel to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing on May 7-12 for talks on a range of issues, the State Department said Tuesday.

"Deputy Secretary Negroponte looks forward to consulting with these key partners on recent developments in the region, exchanging views on political and economic issues, and strengthening close ties and cooperation on a range of regional and global issues," his office said in a statement.

The trip comes as the State Department's Korean affairs office director Sung Kim is slated to visit North Korea this week in hopes of moving ahead nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang, according to South Korea's Yonhap agency.

Sung Kim last visited the North in April for talks about the delay in its promised declaration of nuclear programmes, an issue that has been blocking progress in a six-nation denuclearisation deal involving the two ...