U.S. envoy arrives in South Korea amid tension over North Korea

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U.S. envoy arrives in South Korea amid tension over North Korea

Sung Kim, U.S. Special Envoy for North Korea, speaks during trilateral meeting between Japan, U.S. and South Korea, to discuss North Korea, in Tokyo, Japan, September 14, 2021. SEOUL, Oct 23 Reuters - The U.S. envoy for North Korea arrived in South Korea on Saturday amid stalled denuclearisation talks and tension over Pyongyang's recent missile tests.

Special Representative Sung Kim's visit came days after North Korea fired a new submarine ballistic missile SLBM which prompted criticism from Washington and calls for a return to talks aimed at denuclearising the North in return for U.S. sanctions relief.

Kim, after talks with South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Washington on Tuesday, urged North Korea to refrain from further provocations and engage in sustained and substantive dialogue. Pyongyang has so far rejected U.S. overtures, accusing the United States and South Korea of talking diplomacy while ratcheting up tensions with their own military activities.

On Thursday, the North said the United States was overreacting to its self-defensive SLBM test and questioned the sincerity of Washington's offers of talks, warning of consequences.

Arriving in South Korea, Kim said he looks forward to having productive follow up discussions with his counterpart, without elaborating.