WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Tuesday to keep the door for talks with North Korea open, an official said after their trilateral meeting intended to discuss the next steps in dealing with the communist nation under a new leadership.
"Through today's meeting, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed to an opinion that the path for the resumption of talks (with North Korea) is open," the South's chief nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam told reporters.
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Lim participated in a day-long meeting at the State Department with his American and Japanese counterparts, Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
The allies also agreed that "South-North Korean relations and the U.S.-North Korea relationship can be improved through dialogue," Lim added.
He said that the three parties will also closely consult with the other members of the six-way nuclear talks -- China and Russia.
The U.S. said the trilateral meeting is a routine event. But it drew keen attention since it marks the first since the death of the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, in December.
The world is keeping tabs on the leadership of Kim's third son, Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s.
The North recently issued a statement that it would never deal with the South's Lee Myung-bak administration, claiming it did not pay proper respects with regard to Kim's death.
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