A U.S. State Department official for refugee affairs is holding talks in Seoul with governmen officials on policies on North Korean defectors.

Government sources said Friday that the official came to Seoul with Homeland Security Department officials, but whether they will visit China is unknown.

Another source close to the situation said they will discuss coordination of policies as the United States has begun to accept defectors.

The sources said Washington sent working-level officials to Seoul in December last year to discuss the defectors. Other officials from the U.S. departments of state and homeland security also visited Seoul and Beijing for talks on the same issue.