The deputy U.S. secretary of state will arrive in Seoul next week to debrief officials on the results of the U.S.-China summit, Washington announced Friday.

James Steinberg will also travel to Japan and China to follow up on U.S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with his counterpart Hu Jintao in Washington this week, the U.S. State Department said. Steinberg will arrive in Seoul on Jan. 26.

The trip by the U.S. envoy comes as the two Koreas prepare to hold defense talks for the first time in months, a development that might lead to larger-scale peace talks with the nuclear-armed North.

In their meeting, Obama and Hu agreed on the importance of securing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, calling inter-Korean dialogue “essential” for a step forward on the issue.

Tensions have been running high on the divided peninsula following two deadly attacks by Pyongyang against Seoul in 2010.

Unveiling a new uranium enrichment facility to a U.S. expert last year, North Korea has been seeking to resume the stalled multinational talks aimed at its denuclearization, which could provide it with munch-needed outside food and fuel aid.

(hayney@heraldcorp.com)