A senior U.S. diplomat for Asia says officials from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will meet soon for talks over North Korea policies in the aftermath of the death of Kim Jong-il.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in Tokyo Friday that the trilateral talks will be held in Washington with the exact date under negotiations.

Campbell also said he was aware of a rumor concerning a light water reactor explosion in North Korea that spread at the stock market in Seoul on Friday. He said he was unable to neither confirm nor deny what happened in the North regarding the rumor.