Top nuclear negotiators of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will sit down for talks in Japan on Thursday to discuss ways to respond to North Korea’s nuclear provocations. 

South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs of Japan's foreign ministry, Takehiro Funakoshi will hold talks in Karuizawa in the central Japanese prefecture of Nagano.

The three-way meeting comes some three months after the last session and will focus on assessing the latest tensions on the Korean Peninsula. 

In particular, the top diplomats will likely denounce the North’s latest launch of the Hwasong-18 solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) as well as Pyongyang’s attempts to place the blame on Seoul and Washington for driving up tensions on the peninsula. 

The three officials are also expected to agree to boost their countries’ cooperation in responding to the North’s provocations, including applying unilateral sanctions, while seeking ways to block the North’s illegal cyber activities which are cited as Pyongyang’s new source of revenue for its development of nuclear weapons and missiles. 

Kim Gunn is set to hold bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart on Thursday and with this U.S. counterpart on Friday.