South Korean nuclear envoy to US to discuss North Korea tensions

South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon. Source: Yonhap

South Korea's top nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon arrived in Washington on June 17 for talks with US officials as North Korea stoked tensions with a series of angry actions against Seoul, including blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office, Yonhap news agency reported.

Lee Do-hoon appeared at Dulles International Airport. His visit to the US was unannounced, leading to speculation that he may have been dispatched as a special envoy of the South Korean presidential office.

He refused to answer reporters' questions about the purpose of his visit and the people he would meet.

Officials participating in the dialogue may include US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun - US Special Envoy for North Korea.

Earlier, the US State Department expressed disappointment with North Korea's recent actions to sever ties with South Korea and called on the country to refrain from "counterproductive actions".

The United States has deployed surveillance aircraft in South Korea on a mission "apparently aimed at monitoring North Korea," amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas, a military source said on June 17, according to Yonhap.

The source confirmed: "US Navy EP-3E aircraft and RC-12X aircraft of US forces stationed in South Korea appeared in the sky over the Seoul capital area."

The move comes at a time when North Korea has escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula, signaling a move to scrap an inter-Korean military de-escalation agreement signed in 2018.

Earlier the same day, the Korean People's Army announced that it would redeploy troops to the inter-Korean industrial park in the western border town of Kaesong and the Mount Kumgang joint tourist area on the eastern coast./.