WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Gary Samore, senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama on disarmament, plans to visit South Korea early next month for an annual U.N. forum that would set the stage for in-depth discussions on nonproliferation ahead of next year's Nuclear Security Summit, diplomatic sources here said Tuesday.
The South Korea-U.N. Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation, to be held Nov. 7-8 on the southern resort island of Jeju, comes as Seoul is preparing to host the second Nuclear Security Summit in March.
Samore, coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction, proliferation and terrorism at the National Security Council, serves as Obama's "sherpa" -- a personal representative for coordinating agenda items at the summit.
"Attending the forum in Jeju, Samore will review efforts to stop proliferation and explain about views on new challenges," a source said.
Other participants include Sergio Duarte, high representative for disarmament affairs at the United Nations, Vann Van Diepen, a U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of state, and Jarmo Sareva, deputy secretary-general at the Conference on Disarmament, according to the source.