Senior US officials visit Seoul for talks on security, N.Korea

Two senior U.S. policymakers on the Asia-Pacific region have visited Seoul for discussions on pending security issues between the two allies, as well as North Korea.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear arrived in Seoul on Sunday. They are scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and other top Seoul officials later today (Monday).

The two sides are expected to exchange views on a surprise weekend visit by top aides of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, including the North's number two man Hwang Pyong-so, to the South. The two Koreas agreed to resume high-level talks within several weeks.

Russel and Shear will likely brief South Korean officials on Washington's ongoing negotiations with Tokyo to amend their defense cooperation guidelines. An interim report on the guidelines is expected this week.

Before his departure for Tokyo on Tuesday, Shear is scheduled to meet with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo.