U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg arrived in Seoul Wednesday for talks over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s claimed uranium enrichment program, Xinhua reported.
Steinberg is scheduled to meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, who told reporters a day ago the issue of whether Pyongyang's uranium enrichment program should be brought to the United Nations Security Council will be "intensively" discussed.
Pyongyang recently claimed it has built a highly sophisticated facility to enrich uranium, raising security concern in the region, while expressing its willingness to return to the stalled six- party nuclear talks.
Steinberg is also expected to brief South Korean officials on the outcome of the recent summit in Washington between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, who voiced opposition in unison to "all activities inconsistent with" Pyongyang's pledged commitment to ending its nuclear program and urged "necessary steps" to reopen the stalled six-party nuclear disarmament talks in the near future.
South Korea has welcomed the outcome of the summit, saying it is "in line with" its policy direction regarding DPRK issues.
Steinberg's Asian trip will also bring him to Japan and China.