U.S. special envoy to meet with S. Korean, Japanese officials on DPRK nuke test

Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for policy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will visit Seoul Wednesday to discuss with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts the recent DPRK nuclear test, the State Department announced Tuesday.

While in Seoul, Kim will participate in a trilateral meeting with South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Hwang Joon-kook and Japanese Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Kimihiro Ishikane, the Department said in a statement.

The meeting was aimed at continuing the "close trilateral coordination on North Korea policy and the international community's response to North Korea's nuclear test," it added.

The DPRK announced last Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. The test, if confirmed, is the fourth nuclear test conducted by the country. The previous three were carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

While disputing the DPRK's claim about the hydrogen bomb test, Washington vowed to punish Pyongyang for its flagrant violations of UN Security Council resolutions. The U.S. has been holding consultations in the past week with South Korea, Japan and other countries on how to respond to the DPRK's nuclear test.@ U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed legislation to impose harsher sanctions against the DPRK in response to its nuclear test.

The measure requires President Barack Obama to sanction those engaging in transactions with the DPRK related to weapons of mass destruction, arms, luxury goods, money laundering, counterfeiting and human rights abuses.

It also gives the president authority to sanction anyone engaging in financial transactions to support the DPRK's banned activities and its development of cyber threat industry.

"The latest test demands a response," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel, a co-sponsor of the House bill. "We need to act unilaterally to make clear to the North Koreans that their actions have consequences."

The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation in the coming weeks.

In response to mounting calls for tougher sanctions on the DPRK following its announcement of the hydrogen bomb test, China said Tuesday that all sides concerned should work together to bring the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue to the negotiation table.

The objective of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the international nuclear non-proliferation regime should be upheld, said Hong Lei, a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, adding that peace and stability in the region must be maintained. Endi