The U.S. special representative for North Korea policy will visit South Korea this week, the State Department announced Tuesday, his first trip to the region since taking office last month.

Ambassador Sung Kim will be in Seoul on Thursday for meetings with Seoul’s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, Hwang Joon-kook, and other officials. Kim will be accompanied by his deputy, Sydney Seiler, special envoy for the six-party talks, and Allison Hooker, director for Korea at the National Security Council, the department said.

Kim’s talks with Hwang are expected to cover a recent visit to Russia by Choe Ryong-hae, a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. During the trip, Choe told Russian officials that North Korea is willing to resume the six-party nuclear talks without preconditions.

Hwang is currently on a visit to Moscow for talks with his counterpart.

The nuclear talks have been stalled since late 2008. Pyongyang has called for an unconditional resumption, while Seoul and Washington have demanded the communist nation first take concrete steps demonstrating its denuclearization commitment.

Kim, a Korean-American career diplomat, took office last month as special envoy for North Korea policy after completing a three-year stint as ambassador to Seoul. Kim also doubles as deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korea.

From Seoul, Kim will travel to Tokyo on Dec. 8 for talks with senior Japanese officials, including Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Junichi Ihara. The following day, Kim will participate in meetings on bilateral issues in his role as deputy assistant secretary, the department said.

Kim will then visit Beijing on Dec. 10 for meetings with senior Chinese government officials, including Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei. He is scheduled to return to Washington on Dec. 12. (Yonhap)