The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held a meeting on Wednesday for consultations on the next steps towards North Korea following the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi last week.

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon and Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi to discuss how to coordinate efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the North. 

The department said earlier Biegun was to meet separately with Lee and Kenji and a three-way meeting was also expected. However, it did not elaborate on details of the meetings. 

The South Korean nuclear envoy is visiting Washington for a three-day trip to meet with Biegun and share their assessments regarding the summit.

[Photo : YONHAP News]