S. Korea, US to hold high-level talks on N. Korea sanctions

South Korea and the United States are set to hold their first high-level talks Monday dealing exclusively with implementing new sanctions on North Korea, officials said.

The meeting brings together senior officials from both sides to exchange views on ways to enforce a recent string of sanctions imposed on the North over its nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch last month.

Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will meet with Ambassador Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, and Daniel Fried, the State Department's coordinator for sanctions policy, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul later in the day.

"We will review and discuss ways to maximize pressure on North Korea by effectively applying the three axes of the Security Council resolution, unilateral sanctions imposed by South Korea and the U.S., and pressure by the international community," said a senior ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In early March, the U.N. Security Council adopted tough sanctions against Pyongyang, including a ban on the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources that serve as a key source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime.

Seoul and Washington also took separate measures to squeeze Pyongyang into abandoning its nuclear and missile programs.

"Both sides will explain the details of the unilateral sanctions and exchange views on any questions we might have about each other's sanctions," the official said.

Monday's talks aren't expected to lead to the announcement of any new sanctions from either side, the official added.

As their countries' chief envoys to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Kim Hong-kyun and Sung Kim will hold separate talks ahead of the high-level session. Kim Hong-kyun is expected to also share the results of his talks with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei held in Beijing last week.

The South Korean and American envoys will be meeting for the second time in less than two weeks. Kim Hong-kyun visited Washington earlier this month, shortly after taking office. (Yonhap)