A group of European Union diplomats will visit North Korea this week.
Officials from the so-called European Union Ministerial Troika, whose name refers to the country holding the current EU presidency, its successor and the European Commission, are scheduled to make a four-day trip to the North beginning Saturday. A government official said the EU officials would meet high-ranking North Korean officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Kung Suk-woong, to discuss North Korea's nuclear and human rights issues, among other topics. EU Troika representatives have visited North Korea on several occasions to seek ways to resolve the ongoing atomic standoff. At the upcoming talks, the officials are expected to urge Pyongyang to swiftly return to stalled six-party nuclear talks.